


The Aftermath

by cryingstonestatue



Series: The Aftermath [1]
Category: The Royal Romance (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Mild Language, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:33:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27829048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryingstonestatue/pseuds/cryingstonestatue
Summary: Riley Brooks removes herself from court before the end of King Liam and Countess Madeleine’s engagement tour, leaving her group of friends heartbroken and their lives in shambles. After a decade, Drake stumbles upon news of a recent tragedy and they make a last attempt to bring her back.
Relationships: Drake Walker/Original Character(s), Liam Rys & Main Character (The Royal Romance), Maxwell Beaumont/Original Character(s)
Series: The Aftermath [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036770
Comments: 14
Kudos: 6





	1. The Met

After giving Eleanor, Gabriel, and Theodore breakfast, Riley made her way to the kitchen of their New York penthouse and began making turkey sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies, for what she hoped could be for a picnic in Central Park in the late afternoon after the kids’ practices. 

The sound of the mixer didn’t allow Riley to hear her husband walk into the kitchen. She feels his stiff arms around her waist and chuckles. 

Kissing the back of her head, Theodore asks, “Making a treat for me?”

Riley laughs, removing herself from his grasp to preheat the oven on the other side of the kitchen. “For the kids.”

Theodore looks into the bowl. “Isn’t it a little early to be making dessert?” 

“Actually,” Riley goes back and stops the mixer. “I thought we could go on a little picnic?” She looks at her husband thoughtfully. Bringing her attention back towards the cookies, she continues, “After Gabe’s soccer practice and Ella’s dance class, of course.” 

“Of course,” he repeats. He watches her put the cookie dough in the fridge. “We should ask the kids.” 

Riley turns, holding a piece of bread in her hands. “Do you think they might not want to go?”

“Nah, I’m sure they do.” He walks up to her and collects her in his arms. “But I had other plans for us today.”

A shy smile spreads across Riley’s face. “Which is?”

“A visit to the Met. They’ve a new exhibit.” 

“With the kids?” she removes herself from his embrace with her free hand and goes back to making sandwiches.

“We can ask them to come with.”

“And if they don’t want to?”

Theodore laughs. Letting go of Riley, he goes into the fridge to grab an apple. “Gabe’s old enough to watch over Ella for a couple hours. We’ll bring them back dinner.” 

Gabriel had just turned ten, and Eleanor was still many weeks away from turning eight. Even though her husband argued that they were old enough to be somewhat self sufficient, Riley still felt nervous leaving them alone. 

Noticing the concern on her face, he suggests, “We could also just go during their practice times if that’ll make you feel better, babe.” 

“Thanks, Theo,” she smiles, eyeing the apple. “I just… get worried sometimes. Especially for Gabe.”

Theo gives an understanding nod and takes a bite into his apple, but not before Riley notices the irritation on his face. After ten years, she no longer let it bother her, unless Theo’s annoyance of her and Liam’s son got excessive. She understood that it was difficult for Theo to raise a child that wasn’t his, especially when his wife made it very clear that she was still in love with the father of that child. 

Even though Theo agreed to parent Gabriel with Riley, he was glad that they had their own daughter, Eleanor, so he could at least be a father to her in the ways that he wasn’t with Gabe. 

“You know I didn’t mean it like that, right?” Riley turns to fully face him, wanting to keep her husband in a good mood, she tries to explain herself. “It’s just that I don’t want them to do anything foolish or—.”

“Riley. Babe,” Theodore looks at his wife, in her old, dark tank top and a worn pair of jeans. “I know. I worry about them, too. I wanna keep them safe, too.” 

Riley smiles and gives her husband a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you,” she whispers. Turning back to the counter, she finishes making the sandwiches as Theo stands behind her, eating his apple. “I’ll leave these for lunch then, if we’re not going on the picnic. We can get Chinese for dinner, and maybe the cookies could be a snack for later today?” She looks at Theo, and he nods in silent agreement.

——-

Ella and I raced down towards the elevator, Mom and Dad trailing far behind us. We hold the “close doors” button and leave them on our floor as the elevator falls towards the lobby. 

We tumble out, giggling, but Ella freezes and cries, “I forgot my water!” She starts throwing things out of her bag and onto the lobby floor. When Mom and Dad finally come out of the elevator, Mom starts laughing. 

“Forgot this?” she holds out Ella’s bottle to her and helps her put everything back in her bag.

The four of us walk together towards the waiting limo. Once we’re inside, Mom and Dad turn to us. 

“While you guys are at practice,” Dad begins, “Your mother and I will be seeing a new exhibit at the Met.”

“Ou, take pictures for me, please!” Ella requests.

“We’ll pick you up on time, promise,” Mom reassures, caressing my cheek. “You both have your phones on you, yes?”

Ella and I pat our pockets, signaling where we put our devices. 

We reach the indoor soccer courts first. Mom gives me a quick kiss on my forehead and Dad gives me a pat on the back as I fumble out the door with my large bag. I wish Ella good luck during dance practice and head inside. 

I played until I could barely breath. I skipped some of the water breaks, my body wanting to keep moving, so when everyone was hydrating themselves, I continued to dribble and chase after the ball. During the third water break, coach yells at me to “Sit the hell down!” so I relent and down my water in one breath. My parents are planning a trip to Italy next week, and I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to lose that much practice time; I was motivated to work ahead. 

After practice, I wait in the lobby with some of my friends. We talk, but we’re not fully engrossed in the conversation: everyone either has their eyes glued to the doors or to their phones, waiting for their parents to give the signal that it was time to go home. 

I turn on the ringer of my phone and sit back on the bench, waiting for my parents. Dad was usually the punctual one, but since they’d gone to visit a new exhibit, I guessed he wanted to spend a little more time there; Mom and Dad weren’t always free to be able to do things together. 

I take a nap while I wait, but when I wake up, I realize that I’ve been waiting for almost half an hour. Ella’s session would end in a couple minutes, so I shoot her a text hoping that she would see it as soon as she got out. 

> _Hey._

> _hi. r u guys on ur way?_

> _No. Mom and Dad haven’t picked me up yet._

> _rlly? whats taking them so long?????_

> _I’m going to check their location_

She leaves me on read.

> _It says “loading” but then says unavailable. The Met has wifi right?_

> _weird_

> _Can you check, please?_

> _yessir_

After a few moments, she texts me back.

> _it says the same for me :(( im worried_

> _Don’t worry, I’m sure there’s a reason_

I sit in the lobby, trying to calm down Eleanor through text and wave goodbye to all my friends as their parents pick them up. After another half hour, the next set of lessons start for the older kids. The receptionist steals glances at me before finally saying, “Hey Gabriel, is your mom coming to pick you up today?”

“Um,” I look down at the phone in my hand, contemplating whether I should call one of my parents. “I’m not sure.” 

“What about your dad?” she asks.

“No, they should be in the same place. They usually pick me up by now.” 

“We have your grandmother as an emergency number. Want me to call her up and make sure everything’s alright?” she suggests. I want to say no, that there’s no reason to worry, but the sense of dread in my chest threatens to yield tears. 

“Sure,” I allow. 

My mother’s mother lives in Northern New Jersey and visits often, since it’s not too long of a train ride — she’d drive, but parking was difficult, and our reserved underground parking spots in the building was already filled with Dad’s cars. The receptionist introduces herself, then waves me over to talk on the phone. 

“Hell-o!” Grandma greets. “How was practice? Everything okay?”

“Good. Yeah everything’s fine,” I say. “Practice ended almost an hour ago, but I’m still here. And Ella says that Mom and Dad haven’t picked her up, either.” 

“Uh oh,” she says, and I can hear her face fall. “Do you want me to come pick you up? You both can stay with me tonight. Then we will call Mama and tell her you guys are alright. How does that sound?”

I give a sigh of relief. “Yes, please. I’ll tell Ella.”

“Okay, baby. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

I fill in my sister, but she doesn’t reply to my texts.

Twenty minutes later, I throw my bag into the trunk of Grandma’s Buick and slide into the back seat next to Ella. She stares at her lap, and I know she’s feeling the same amount of worry and confusion that I am. 

When we reach Grandma’s small town, she asks us if we want dinner. When both of us say we’re not hungry, she still grabs us McDonald’s. 

Mom and Dad don’t answer our calls. We even call Dad’s assistant, but she also says that she hasn’t heard from him.

We eat dinner quietly, with Grandma giving us encouraging kisses and pep talks while we talk about our practices. Afterwards, we go into the living room to quietly watch some Netflix while Grandma makes some apple pie. The smell of it baking in the oven makes me nostalgic for something unknown, and it reminds me of the cookies that Mom was making earlier today. I hear Ella sniffle, and turn to see her silently crying. 

After desert, Grandma gives us some of Mom’s old baggy clothes to sleep in. Ella gets to sleep in Mom’s old room while I sleep in the guest room. My eyes burn from the amount of tears I held back today, and its almost painful to close them. 

…

I wake to the smell of pancakes and a familiar rumble in the pit of my stomach. I brush my teeth, but don’t bother to fix my hair. Ella eats quietly on the island in the kitchen. I slide onto the seat next to her and watch Grandma start making another pancake.

“Good morning!” she says to me. “Could one of you please turn on the news in the living room?”

I allow Ella to keep eating and walk towards the little doorway that separates the living room from the kitchen. Turning on the news, I increase the volume. The image of police cars, ambulances, and firetrucks from a helicopter view flash on the screen while a female reporter narrates the incident. 

“ _On the evening of May seventeenth, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was bombed by an unidentified group. Investigations are underway and the city has been closed off, including trains and bus routes into and out of the city, along with roads and bridges._

_“Many dead bodies have been found, and many others are severely injured. CEO of Blaise Enterprises, Mister Theodore Blaise, has been found dead. The whereabouts of his wife, Riley Brooks, are unknown. Senator Nicolae Adebayo sustained serious injuries, as did many other persons.”_

Ella’s screams drown out the sound of my heart thundering in my ears. Grandma rushes towards her and collects her off of the floor and into her arms. I stare at them, the reporters’ voices and the smell of the pancake burning melt into the background as I take a shaky breath and allow my tears to fall. 


	2. International News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drake finds news about Riley and goes to tell Liam

\- DRAKE - 

Taking the leftover pizza out of the microwave, Drake eats his dinner leaned against the kitchen counter, facing his empty living room. He had Bartie over last weekend. When the boy walked in, the entire place felt more illuminated. Not only was the place more lively with some company, but Drake was finally able to see exactly how boring his cabin was — of course, the initial plan was to go camping, but it started raining, so Drake thought his place would be the next best thing. But alas, it wasn’t. He did his best to make the place a little more fun and to make Bartie’s time with him enjoyable. All he wanted was to give his nephew a break from courtly life. When Savannah came to pick him up Monday morning, the house felt dim again. He knew that even if he preferred being alone, he wouldn’t enjoy it as much as he would’ve enjoy being with friends or with the people he cared about.

Tonight was supposed to be the night that he and Liam went out drinking, but Liam had to reschedule due to an overload of meetings. Drake didn’t take it personally, and was recently used to Liam distancing himself from everyone.

After Riley had left, Hana, Maxwell, and Drake went to Los Angeles to try and find Tariq by themselves. When they got him to give an announcement, it was sent out in the middle of Liam’s and Madeleine’s engagement shower, even though the group wanted desperately to do it quietly. Drake remembered Liam’s face after Madeleine had calmed down the crowd and was giving her own thoughts about how the court had treated Riley; Liam had scanned the crowd for her face, his eyes passing over the faces of his three friends, no Riley in sight. Afterwards, Drake had to tell the entire group that Riley had left the night before. He thought she was bluffing, so he did nothing to stop it. 

The court remained in New York for another long week, in an attempt to try and find Riley. They’d gone anywhere they thought could help find her, even the bar they first met her at and her old apartment. They even tracked down Daniel, Riley’s co-worker. Liam had gone as far as to tell Bastien to do a background check on her parents and had a security team monitor her mother’s house for any signs of her. 

Drake had been the one to put the issue of finding Riley on his shoulders. His guilt for letting Riley leave that night was something that he knew he would take to his grave. Sometimes he’d work with Olivia and Maxwell — Hana had left court after there was no sign of Riley returning. They’d send small search parties internationally and contacted any establishment that they thought she would have any association with. 

Of course, nothing turned up, but Drake still kept his eye on international news, while Maxwell and Olivia continued their own searches. Even though they’d all lost hope for finding Riley long ago, she still remained in the back of their thoughts.

The two best friends were beginning to distance, but Drake was glad that him and Liam were at least trying to stay connected — even though he had moved out of the palace a while ago, his cabin wasn’t a ten minute drive away. 

After putting his plate in the sink, he took out his phone and decided to scroll through the internet and current news.

Out of all the states in the country Drake paid attention to in his search, he slowly began to ignore New York. He figured that if she didn’t want to be found, that would be the last place she would go. 

He begins pouring himself a glass of whiskey, when he stumbles upon a vague article title: 

America Left in Shock as Country’s Largest Museum is Bombed Over the Weekend.

With the slight hope that the museum wasn’t in New York, he clicks on the link and reads about a bomb going off in a new exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He almost exited out before noticing that an internationally known CEO had been found dead and a Senator was badly injured.

He keeps scrolling and sees the subtitle Known Visitors around Time of Incident and Their Conditions. Beneath it was a list of names with either “dead”, “injured”, or “unknown” written in bold next to them. 

He scans through the names, as he’s always done with any list ever since Riley left, a dull hope in the back of his mind that one day there’d be a list with her name on it. His heart gives a jolt when he reads “Riley Brooks injured”.

\- LIAM -

After hours of back to back meetings with dignitaries and ambassadors from all over the world, Liam finally gets a chance to close his eyes and lean back in his chair. A rare moment of peace. 

He didn’t mind the workload. In fact he embraced it. It allowed him to distract his mind and his heart from the void Riley had created when she left. Years after her departure, Liam never stopped putting the blame on himself. He regretted the heartache he put her through during the Engagement Tour. He regretted that she had to suffer her name being dragged through the mud by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. He regretted every moment he didn’t tell her that he loved her. He regretted every moment that he didn’t cherish her. Every moment he hadn’t held her in his arms had been a moment wasted. 

Of course she’d want to leave me, he told himself routinely. I never deserved her. What type of man forgets to cherish such a precious being? How did I forget to cherish the woman who stood by my side even when she was experiencing Hell? 

Diving head-first into his work was a necessary reprieve from this thoughts. He would never want to forget her, but he hated remembering how he didn’t keep her safe. This life of loneliness was his punishment, and he believed he deserved it.

When the door opens and the light thud of Drake’s foot steps barrel towards him, Liam doesn’t open his eyes, but asks, “How are you Drake? Did you have a nice weekend with Bartie?” 

Drake freezes. “How did you know I spent the weekend with him?”

“Maxwell told me.” He looks at Drake and goes to fill a glass of scotch for himself and some whiskey for Drake. “He usually calls to tell me how his day’s been going. That day he was particularly upset. Sunday, I think it was. I heard Bertrand or Savannah trying to cheer him up in the background, though I couldn’t make out the most of what they were saying through the sobs.”

Drake takes the glass of whiskey. “He cried to you? About what?” Maxwell crying or showing any emotion wouldn’t have been surprising when Riley was around, but after she left, everyone had bottled up their feelings. It seemed unnatural, but everyone was so focused on hiding their own emotions from one another that they didn’t even notice that they were all doing the same thing. Lately though, the walls they had built around themselves were crumbling. Their decade of ignored pain was becoming too much to handle, but none of them were ready to face it yet. 

Liam sighs, looking down at his drink. “About how Riley never got to meet Bartie.”

“She saw him in Paris.”

Shaking his head, Liam says, “It’s not the same.”

The men take a moment to finish their drinks, the silence hanging between them, as was usual when anything about Riley, her social season, or the Engagement Tour ever came up. 

“Speaking of Riley,” Drake starts, pulling out his phone. “She’s in New York.” 

“What?” Liam jolts to attention and reaches for the phone, scanning the screen that Drake opened up for him. When he looks at her name, he can’t take his eyes off of it. 

Riley Brooks. His Riley. 

Injured, but alive. 

The article was uploaded less than two hours ago.

Disbelief, shock, pain, and hope all flash through Liam’s face when he looks up at Drake, who explains what happened at the Met, and when he’s done relaying the information that he has, Liam takes a moment to absorb it all. He pulls out his own phone and looks for more articles to read; he was alive with the need to see her name again, the need to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. After all this time, it felt too good to be true.

He’s only able to type “The Met NYC” before he looks back at Drake and breathes, “Maxwell and Hana. We need to let them know.” 

Drake takes a moment to respond. Liam scans his friend’s face, and is shocked to find himself expecting Drake to disagree. 

And he does: “I don’t think that’s the best idea right now. We should take our time and approach this slowly.” 

“Not the best idea?” Liam stands, abandoning his phone. He blinks a couple times, making sure that he’s really in the moment, and that he really just heard those words come out of Drake’s mouth. “When will it be the best idea?” He stands, leaning against the table to close the distance between himself and Drake. “Eleven damn years isn’t a long enough wait for you?” 

“Liam that’s not what I meant. I just think we should give her space. Reach out to her. She’s been hurt—.”

“Space?“ He turns around and begins to pace. There are too many words, and he doesn’t know how to get them all out. After a desperate decade of trying to find her, trying to find the only woman he’s ever really loved, he has to wait even longer? "Where was ‘give her space’ when you ran after her car the night of my coronation? When you wanted to jump on the plane to New York and follow her?” He took a moment to stare down at Drake. “Do you understand how hard it’s been, religiously searching for her name in every one of Bastien’s daily reports? Waiting for Maxwell or Olivia or you to call and say that you’ve found her or had a lead? Do you understand how hard it is, traveling without her by my side, or without her waiting for me back home? How hard it is, during every damned press conference,” his voice breaks, “being asked of my marrying or at least producing an heir? I can’t get over it. I can’t get over her.” He puts his head in his hands. “Ten damned years and she’s still the person I work to be a good king for….” He takes a deep breath, trying to control his volume. “I understand that you are in pain as well, Drake, she’s a sore wound to pick at, but we’ve all been hurting. Maxwell cries about how his ‘little blossom’ would have enjoyed the last Beaumont Bash and how she would have made it more memorable, or how there’s no one else he would want to star with him in his ‘breakdance opera’. We have been calling Hana incessantly over the past five years about returning to court. Do you know what she said to me a few weeks ago? She said she doesn’t want to return without Riley. That it won’t be the same without her. And when I gave my speech to the court and to the people at Applewood last month, it felt just like that, so so empty. All these years—.”

A knock on the door interrupts Liam. He leans back, dusts off his clothes and takes a moment to compose himself, making sure no tears escaped him. He calls for the person to enter and Olivia walks in. 

“Liam,” she starts, but stops herself as she notices Drake sitting in front of his desk, and how tense Liam’s shoulders are. 

“What is it, Duchess Olivia?” Liam asks. 

“It’s Riley,” she starts, all business. “She’s in New York, but has been injured after a bomb went off in a museum she was visiting. I don’t know which hospital she might be in, but I have a list of places I assumed they’d put her.”

“We know about Riley,” Drake scoffs. “Since we know where she is, finding the hospital they put her in shouldn’t be too hard.” 

“Actually, there’s quite a number of hospitals she could be in. I called some to check if her name was on their list of patients brought in from the bombing, but they said the hospital they put the victims in would depend on the type of injury. And since I’m not exactly in New York, they wouldn’t let me know if she was there or not, and said I’d have to be there in person for them to give me information.”

“I’ll have Bastien look into it,” Liam suggests. 

“Hopefully he’ll have narrowed it down before you get there,” she says. 

The men fall silent, looking between themselves and Olivia. 

“What?” she spits, taken aback. “You two have been an emotional mess because of her for the past decade and now that you know where she is, you don’t want to see her? You’ve given up, just like that? At the most crucial moment? I didn’t take you two for such cowards.”

Drake stands, balling his fists. “Giving her space isn’t called being cowardly.” 

“Maybe not,” she speculates, “but what is cowardly is letting someone you love leave without fighting for them.”

Liam puts his hand up, asking for peace. “We will go.” Drake looks back at him, but Liam doesn’t meet his eyes. “We were discussing whether we should tell Hana or Maxwell yet.” 

“Tell them before you take off. They’ll catch up.” 

“Will you be accompanying us?” Liam asks. 

Olivia’s face falls. “I think it’s best if you all greet her first. If she’s to receive a reminder of Cordonia, I’m sure my face isn’t one she’d want to see first.” 

“Nonsense,” Liam claims. 

Drake looks back at Liam. “I’ll go tell Bastien,” he says. “Get some things together, Liam. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, but pack quickly. Hopefully we’ll be able to take off within the hour.” 

…

Liam had taken many trips across the Atlantic after Riley left. Though more than half of his trips were for political conferences or parties, the other times Liam would come to just absorb the atmosphere of the city: the constant motion, the consistent energy of people always going somewhere, needing to be in another place, waiting to start something new, unafraid of any interruptions as long as no one stopped moving. It reminded him of her.

Looking down at the water under the plane, Liam imagined what Riley would have been thinking about on her first flight to Cordonia with Maxwell and Drake. Was she nervous, excited, regretful? All of the above? He wondered if she ever crossed the Atlantic again, after she left. Did she ever dream of visiting Cordonia, the same way Liam dreamed of greeting her at the airport after all that time? 

He couldn’t even remember what it felt like, to be in her embrace, to force himself not to look back at her during courtly functions when they were on the Engagement Tour. He carried the memories of their stolen moments like talismans, and more than anything he wished he had savored those moments more. 

After the men are off of the plane, Bastien told them that they all have to go through a mandatory security check, a precaution after the city had been closed off for the weekend. He notified Liam and Drake that he wasn’t able to get farther than what Duchess Olivia had found. He suggested visiting the hospitals one by one. 

“That could take days,” Drake protested. "There has to be a faster way.”

Liam thought about contacting Riley’s mother, hoping that the woman had heard something about her daughter and could help them locate her. He decided against it, not only thinking that the woman might not be alive, but he thought it better to respect her family’s privacy. After all, they were in the same city. Their reunion was inevitable.


	3. More Visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Beaumonts find out about Riley’s condition

\- Maxwell - 

“If it be true that thee shall not cease insulting mine own family nameth, then I dare thee to a battleth!”

“A hurlyburly thee sayeth? Well, then I’ll seeth thee on the dueling ground!”

“Ah, but this isn’t a normal battleth, because I dare thee to a breakdance hurlyburly!” 

“But I knoweth not how to doth the breaketh danceth!”

“Thou art a blinking idiot, and were bound to loseth!” 

“Uncle Max, why do I always have to play the character that loses?” Bartie tosses his copy of the script on the coffee table. 

“Because I’m the one with the killer dance moves!” Maxwell strikes a pose. “You only get to where I am after a lifetime of practice, muffin, and you’ve still got a long way to go.”

“But can’t you lose to me at least once?” Bartie picks up the booklet and starts flipping through the pages. “Like how you pretended to lose to Count Appleton in a rap battle, but then won against him in another rap battle in the next scene!”

“That was to catch him off-guard! I gained his trust and then his respect,” Maxwell argues

“Don’t you want my character’s trust and respect?”

“Your character keeps insulting my character’s family name!” Maxwell cries.

“Whatever.” He throws the booklet back down. “I’m going go to my room for a little while.” 

“Wanna run through your fork placement again?” 

“No, I’m okay. I’ve got it down. Thank you, though.” Bartie heads up the stairs towards his room.

“I’ll see you at dinner, muffin,” Maxwell calls. He plops onto the couch and begins to reread his script as Savannah walks into the room. 

“So how was rehearsal?” she questions. “Did you get a chance to teach Bartie that move you were talking about?”

He shakes his head. “No, we didn’t get to it. Don’t think the little muffin is interested in breakdancing, so I won’t bother him anymore.” 

Savannah doesn’t say anything. Maxwell had started working on his breakdance opera years ago after he tried to finish his novel but then gave up on it, claiming the topic was too depressing. He tried his best to get Bartie interested in his opera, even though Bertrand said it wasn’t appropriate for a boy of his status to be learning how to breakdance instead of perfecting the Cordonian Waltz. In the beginning, Bartie was thrilled that he got to spend more time with his Uncle Maxwell, but as time went on the boy became bored and started to look more towards Uncle Drake for some fun — which Bertrand thought was even more inappropriate (”My boy should be learning how to properly host the royal family, not learning how cut wood or put up a tent!”), though he allowed it after Savannah insisted — and so Maxwell felt increasingly alone at Ramsford.

He could spend some time with Liam and Drake in the capital, but both men were so closed off lately that the air around them would become stifling. He wanted to plan a trip to Shanghai so the Beaumonts could visit Hana, but Bertrand was always so caught up with maintaining the estate — and he never let Maxwell help him — that a moment to relax as a family was uncommon. 

At dinner, Bartie half-heartedly explained to his father how his lessons had gone. Bertrand asked Bartie if he wanted to do some work with him tonight, just to get a feel of what it was like to run the estate, but Bartie simply shrugged and walked off without finishing his dinner. 

Bertrand was about to go after him and demand Bartie to return to his seat, but Savannah put a hand on his shoulder and told her husband to let the boy go. 

“He’s not feeling too well lately,” she reasoned. “Let him go. If he wants to talk to us he will.” 

“There is no reason for him to be behaving in such a manner. I will remind him tomorrow morning, and I will make sure he sits with me… he needs to learn how to run the house sooner or later, and the former would be most preferable.” Bertrand took a sip of his wine. 

Even though House Beaumont’s finances had improved tremendously over time, Bertrand was still obsessed with keeping everything in order, almost desperate to make sure there was no chance of any sort of decline happening again. He wouldn’t hear anyone who tried to tell him that he should take a break or loosen up a little.

“Go easy on him,” Maxwell suggests. “He’s been working really hard on his lessons and barely gets any time to go outside.”

“He needs to spend his time learning all he can so he can be a reputable duke when the time comes!”

“Bertrand, please,” Savannah says. “He’s just having a couple bad days. It’s normal.” 

Bertrand sighs. “I don’t understand why he feels this way. Just last week he was fine. What happened now?”

“He went to Drake’s this weekend, so maybe he misses him,” Savannah speculates. 

“I’ll call him up later,” Maxwell declares. “It’s been a while since I’ve talked to my old pal. I kinda miss him, too.”

The three finish their meal in quiet, but Maxwell sits impatiently for the moment he could jump up and go call Drake. 

After their plates were taken away, Maxwell said his good nights to Savannah and Bertrand and raced up the stairs towards Bartie’s room.

He knocks on the door and waits for Bartie to unlock it. “Yes?” Bartie says. 

“I thought we could give Uncle Drake a call! It’s been a couple days since you’ve seen him and it’s been a while since I’ve talked to him.”

“It’s barely been two days,” Bartie scoffs. “But alright, I guess.”

Bartie goes to sit next to Maxwell on the edge of the bed and leans in while they wait for Drake to answer the FaceTime call. 

He declines the call. Maxwell calls again, Drake declines again.

“Maybe he’s busy?” Bartie wonders aloud.

“It’s more likely that he just doesn’t want me bothering him.” Maxwell’s phone vibrates. “He texted me!”

On flight. Will call in morning.  
“He’s traveling? Where? Do you think His Majesty sent him away again?” Bartie asks.

“I don’t really know. Hopefully he’ll keep his promise and call back in the morning. Until then there’s not much we can do.” Maxwell sighs and stands up, ruffling Bartie’s hair. “Good night, muffin. Sleep well.”

In his room, Maxwell lays in bed thinking of all the places Drake could be going. Olivia was the one who led independent investigations and never told anything to anyone else until she was sure of what she had, so it was unlikely Drake had gone to find something upon her suggestion. Maxwell had tried to reach out to Riley through social media, but soon after he contacted her, she’d deleted all of her accounts, blocked his number, and blocked his email — then when they tried to trace her number through Olivia’s phone, they reached a dead end. 

Drake on the other hand, did work together with Maxwell and Olivia, but also with the division of the King’s Guard that Liam had made to search for Riley. Their king was constantly sending out people to thoroughly examine every place that yielded even the smallest hint of a lead. Rarely was anything found, and when it was, it was either useless or highly questionable.

Recently, they were having difficulty finding new leads — they had already checked so many places around the world that it was hard to think of any place they may have disregarded. That was when Liam and Drake started distancing themselves even further. Maxwell knew they usually spent time together near the end of the week, but when Drake suggested Bartie visit over the weekend, Maxwell knew that both men had started losing hope.

The next morning during another quiet meal, Maxwell noticed Savannah stealing glances at her son.

“Did Uncle Drake call you back yet?” Bartie directed his question towards Maxwell.

“No,” Maxwell said, his mouth stuffed with blueberries and waffles. “I’ll check in on him in a few.” 

Bertrand continued the conversation by telling everyone what he planned to do for the rest of the day. Maxwell could tell that he was trying to get Bartie to want to work with him. He was glad Bertrand wasn’t pushing Bartie too much, and was sure that Savannah had probably talked to him about it last night.

After breakfast, Maxwell gave Drake a call, but it went straight to voicemail. Maxwell left a message asking Drake to get back to him. 

In an attempt to get Bartie out of the house before his tutor showed up, Maxwell went to his door and tried to persuade his nephew to go on a jog with him.

“Maybe later,” Bartie called out from inside his room. “I’m a little tired right now.”

Some time after noon, Drake still hadn’t called back. Finishing his lunch, Maxwell decides to give Drake a call to make sure everything was alright.

The phone rings for so long Maxwell thinks Drake isn’t going to answer, but then hears his voice from the other side: “Hey, Maxwell.”

“Drake!” Maxwell shouts. “What’s happening? You said you’d call this morning but then you didn’t.”

“Sorry about that,” Drake’s voice doesn’t seem directed at Maxwell, who can tell that he’s distracted. “Got caught up.” There’s people talking in the background, but Maxwell can’t tell who it is or what they’re saying.

“So where did you fly off to?” he asks. 

Drake doesn’t answer. The people in the background keep talking. After a few seconds, Drake’s voice is more purposeful when he says to Maxwell, “Listen. Liam and I are in New York. We’re with Riley.”

The rest of Drake’s monologue cuts out as her name echoes through Maxwell’s mind. 

Riley? Our Riley? They found little blossom? How long has it been? Ten years? Almost eleven? Feels like a hundred.

Are they there to bring her back? Does she even want to come back? Would she want to see me, the person who set in motion the series of events that led to her name being dragged through the mud, to her disappearance, to heartbreak?

“New York?” Maxwell finally brings himself to speak through the lump in his throat. “Little blossom’s in New York? When did you find out?”

“Like I said, we found out just last night.” Maxwell didn’t want to mention that he wasn’t listening when Drake had said that. 

“Is… is she alright? Have you talked to her? What did she say?”

“Pay attention, Maxwell,” Drake scolds through his teeth.

“I was paying attention! But if you would be so kind as to repeat what you said….”

“She was visiting a museum and there was a bomb. She’s in New York Presbyterian, and we’re here, too. She got a serious head injury and had surgery on Sunday. Her legs are pretty beat up, but the doctor says some rest will help her get back on her feet within a few weeks.”

“Where is she?” Maxwell yells. “Are you with her?”

Drake sighs. “No, not at the moment. The doctor and a nurse checked her and said they wanted to take her for another CT scan to see if there was anything they might have overlooked.”

“So you… you didn’t speak to her at all?”

“I didn’t, no, but Liam did before they took her away. He won’t tell me what she said.”

“So she is talking, right? She’s alright, technically? Nothing permanent?”

“I don’t know, Maxwell. I’ll let you know what happens when they bring her back.”

“Let me talk to her. I want to see my little blossom,” Maxwell requests. Drake says something, but his voice is far away. He’s talking to someone else, and doesn’t bring the phone back to his ear. “Drake? Hello?”

The line disconnects. Maxwell stands there, shocked. His feet were rooted in place as he stares down at his phone. 

Did they really find Riley? If they did, could they convince her to return?

I was the one who convinced her to come to Cordonia in the first place. I should be there helping bring her back.

“BERTRAND!” Maxwell shrieks, running out the room towards the study.

“What happened?” Savannah screams as Maxwell flies past her. 

“BERTRAND!” he calls again, announcing his arrival.

When he opens the door to the study, Bertrand is on the phone, staring at Maxwell with a grim face. “My apologies, sir, but I will have to call you back,” he says to the person on the other end, hanging up. He stands. “What on Earth was that Maxwell? I’m on an important phone call and you come dashing in, screeching my name like a banshee! Do you understand how incompetent that looks?”

Maxwell knows he’s about to be at the receiving end of another one of Bertrand’s never-ending lectures, but he doesn’t care. He’s jittery and out of breath, but in between pants manages to say, “Liam and Drake found Riley. They’re with her right now. We have to go.”

Stunned, Bertrand takes a step back. “Riley?! Uh, er… Lady Riley?” He clears his throat, composing himself, but can’t get the words out. “They’ve… they’ve…. Where is she? His Majesty is with her?”

“In New York. Yes, he’s there with Drake.” 

Bertrand blinks. He finally manages a solemn voice and asks, “She is well, I hope?”

Maxwell shakes his head. Moments pass, with Bertrand deep in thought. Maxwell worries about what his brother will say next.

“Everything alright in here?” Savannah walks in. “Saw Maxwell run past and wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong.” 

“His Majesty and Drake have found Lady Riley.” Bertrand’s voice is more prominent now.

“What?” Savannah brings a hand over her mouth.

Confidently, he declares, “Maxwell and I will be joining them in New York as soon as possible. I am sorry to leave you and Bartie, my dear,” he sighs, “but we must go. She is still House Beaumont, after all.”

After a moment, Savannah says, “We’ll come with you. I want to see her, too, and I know Bartie would enjoy the trip.” 

Bertrand’s mind is already racing, and he doesn’t have the heart to tell his wife that he wants her to stay here. She seemed certain of herself, and so he would not dissuade her. “Alright then,” he replies.

“Aw yeah!” Maxwell cries. “Family vacation!” 

“Yes, yes, now go pack,” Bertrand commands. “I’ll prepare a flight for us. We must go quickly. Time is of the essence.”

… 

On the flight, Maxwell and Bertrand anxiously look out of their windows. Savannah talks to Bartie about the appeals of New York — after him and his mother had come back from Paris, the family had never taken Bartie out of Cordonia, and since Bertrand was persistent in having Bartie receive his education at the hands of tutors, the boy was never given the time to travel with his family, nor did he have any friends who could either relate to him or tell him tales of their travels.

Eventually, Bartie gets tired and takes a nap. Maxwell feels tired as well, but the excitement to see Riley again doesn’t stop sending jolts through his body. They were so close to her. So close to having her with them, and having everything be the way it should have been from the beginning.

Hours later, he wakes up Bartie and tells him that they’ve landed.

Once they’re out of the airport, Bertrand manages to tag down a driver. They drop off Savannah and Bartie at the hotel where they got a last minute reservation. When Maxwell and Bertrand are outside the hospital, Maxwell jumps out of the car and races inside. 

“Maxwell!” Bertrand calls in a stiff whisper. Maxwell slows down and matches Bertrand’s pace. They walk up to the receptionist, who’s having a discussion with a doctor. They wait for her to notice them, and after a few moments Maxwell debates running off to try and find Riley’s room himself, but Bertrand clears his throat and asks, “Excuse me, could either one of you direct me towards Miss Riley Brooks? She’s a patient here, I believe.”

The doctor looks up. “Are one of you her designated support person?”

“No, not exactly—.”

“We’re family.” Maxwell chimes in. “We just heard what happened and flew in from Europe.”

“Visiting hours are over,” the doctor says. “You fellas can come back at nine in the morning. ‘Til then I can’t help you.” 

“You will tell me where she is or you will face the wrath of House Beaumont’s lawyers!” Bertrand shouts.

“Beaumont? That your last name?” the doctor interrogates.

“Yes and—.”

“The lady’s last name is Brooks. Clearly, you guys aren’t family. I’m gonna need you two to leave. Unless you want me to get security?”

Bertrand looks at the doctor, fuming, ready to give him the worst tongue lashing the man has ever experienced, but someone grips his and Maxwell’s shoulders. 

“They’re with me, Doc,” Drake says. “I’ll take them to Miss Brooks and there’ll be no more trouble. Sorry for the inconvenience.” 

Drake leads the two of them away from reception and towards the ICU. 

“Drake!” Maxwell exclaims, putting an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Thanks for that. We really needed it.” 

“Yes,” Bertrand adds. “It was much appreciated. Now, where is Lady Riley?”

“Did they find everything alright after the CT scan?” Maxwell asks. 

Drake sighs. “Riley’s asleep right now. Today must have been stressful for her, I imagine. You guys can talk to her in the morning.” 

Maxwell is about to repeat his question when he notices Liam sitting in the ICU waiting room, looking at the floor. “Liam!” he calls. 

When Liam looks up, Maxwell looks in shock at his red, swollen eyes. 

“What happened?” Maxwell breathes. The air in his lungs is suddenly painful.

“She—,” he looks back down and speaks slowly, as if every word sent a stab to his chest. “She didn’t remember me. She looked me right in the eye and asked me who I was.” His voice cracks, and he puts his head in his hands.

Maxwell takes a seat next to Liam, but says nothing. Bertrand stands in shock, staring at his king breaking down. Brows furrowed in confusion, he looks at Drake. “What does that mean?”

“She lost her memory.” Drake answered in a quiet voice. Every word seemed to break him. “The doctors didn’t tell us everything, but they told us that they doubted she even knew who she was. After they brought her from the CT scan and explained everything to her, she started crying. Her mother was there, too. She’s actually a nurse here. They’ve decided to question her tomorrow, to try and figure out what she remembers and doesn’t remember. Some detectives are also coming in to question a couple victims. They’re hoping to find some information, or at least something that’ll help them connect some dots.”

“Little blossom doesn’t know who we are?” Maxwell asks, as his shoulders begin to shake. 

Bertrand manages to maintain his composure, though his voice cracks a couple times when he says, “Well. There’s nothing… there’s um… nothing we can do at the moment.” He clears his throat. “Have you two been able to acquire any accommodations?”

Liam sits up, his face wet. “Yes.” He sniffles. “Though we haven’t actually been to the hotel yet. We’ve been here for… oh, a little less than ten hours.”

“Your Majesty I believe it would be wise to spend the night at the hotel and rest. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day. Perhaps the doctors will let us ask questions as well.”

“Thank you, Duke Bertrand, but I would rather stay. Drake, if you want, you can go and get some sleep. I’m sure you need it. I’ll be fine right here.”

Drake, Maxwell, and Bertrand share a silent look, then take a seat near their friend. Bertrand sends Savannah a text, telling her that him and Maxwell will not be returning to the hotel tonight.


	4. Emotions and Confrontations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleanor has a difficult week with her mother in the hospital, and Bastien asks Riley’s mother for some information

\- Eleanor -

Grandma had work on Sunday, which was the same day that the city was re-opened, so we went to the hospital before we went home. She put us in the care of a friendly nurse, Cheryl, who told us we had to sit in the ICU waiting room until Mama came back from her surgery. I was scared that she was gonna look different when she came out, like an ugly Frankenstein or Coraline’s Other Mother, but when her bed was wheeled back into the ICU, she only had a bandage wrapped around her head, covering her hairline. Besides the bandages and a bruise on her cheek, she was still my Mama.

Grandma had left us some cash in case we got hungry and wanted a snack or something from the cafeteria. I didn’t have an appetite, but I constantly asked Gabe to bring me to the vending machine (it was a little far from the ICU, and Grandma didn’t want us going by ourselves, so I had to go with him) and I would purposefully drag behind and take forever to choose something.

I could tell it annoyed him, but that wasn’t really what I was doing. I just hated being in the ICU. It wasn’t boring — we had our phones to play games on, there was a TV which the other people waiting let us have the remote for, and the nurses and doctors who passed by us would always try to start a conversation or give us sad smiles, which made me feel bad because I didn’t have the energy to smile back — it was just that sometimes the ICU felt a little scary. Looking at some of the other patients who were sick made me afraid that this was just a place they were storing Mama before she was going to go join Daddy. I didn’t want to be reminded to think about that, so every time I could I would ask Gabe to bring me to get a snack. I never ate them, and he would only take a bite before leaving it, so very soon the tables next to Mama’s bed were filled with junk food.

Grandma was upset about that. She said that if we didn’t like something we shouldn’t have gotten it. Thankfully, Gabe didn’t rat me out and say that I had made him bring me twelve times, so Grandma thought we just got twelve things at once. She talked to us about it in a gentle voice, but I still started crying and said that I hated it here. I had an audience, which made me nervous, so I hid my face in Grandma’s stomach. We said goodbye to Mama, even though she was still asleep, and went home.

When we got to our door, there was a man and a woman wearing dark suits waiting for us. Grandma told us to go to our rooms while she talked to them, and afterwards called us into the kitchen for dinner, where she told us that they wanted to remind us we would have to stay with her until Mama got better, and that Daddy’s funeral was on Friday.

Grandma called our principal and told her that we weren’t going to be going to school for the rest of the week. I wasn’t upset about school, but what I didn’t like was that I would also have to miss my ballet classes and I wouldn’t be able to take piano lessons for the rest of the week, either.

I cried about it. I wanted to go. I wanted something to happen that was normal, something that I used to do before all of this. At least when I was dancing I would be able to pretend like Mama and Daddy were gonna pick me up together from the lobby. At least when I was in front of the piano with my teacher, Molly, next to me, I could pretend that Mama and Daddy were sitting somewhere behind me listening to me play.

On Monday, Mama was still unconscious, but the doctor said she was doing much better. Grandma’s shift was shorter that day, so she told us we would be visiting Daddy’s work to make sure everything was alright.

We walked into the office building through the revolving door. Gabe and I got into one section while Grandma was in the one behind us. When it was time for us to jump off, Gabe wouldn’t let me pass and began running to make the doors turn faster. It made me a little dizzy, but when Grandma told us to come out, Gabe and I tumbled out together and laughed. I realized it had been a while since I had seen him smile, and that made me sad again.

The receptionist says hello to Grandma and one of Daddy’s workers brought us towards the elevator and up to his office.

As soon as we step out of the elevator, I can see the inside of Daddy’s office through the room’s glass walls.

We pass through cubicles before reaching Daddy’s assistant’s desk, who looks at us with a smile.

“Mrs. Brooks! It’s nice to see you,” she says to Grandma. She looks down at Gabe and I and goes, “Hey there, kids! How are you two holding up?”

“We’re fine,” Gabe says and I manage a small smile.

“I would like a word with you, Ashley,” Grandma demands.

“Oh,” she exclaims. Though Ashley’s skin is dark, a deep pink appears on her cheeks, which I didn’t expect, and she begins to look around her desk nervously. “Yes, of course. Give me a moment.”

After she collects a few documents and folders, Ashley looks at my brother and I to say, “A co-worker’s birthday was today. There’s cake, donuts, and some juice over there. Why don’t you guys take a look?”

We nod our heads and walk off in the direction that Ashley pointed towards while her and Grandma walk into Daddy’s office.

In the room, people are talking to each other and they don’t notice us when we each grab a donut. Gabe pours himself some juice and asks me if I want any.

“Could you also give me a slice of cake, please?” I request.

“The knife for the cake is already there,” he tells me.

“Mama told me no knives. Remember what happened last Thanksgiving?” I laugh to myself.

“I wish I could forget what happened last Thanksgiving, but this knife is different, Ella, it’s more blunt. Just cut how big you want your slice and pull it out.”

He puts my apple juice on my plate, goes to grab his own plate and walk off, but I whine, “Pleaseeee?”

“Ella, I swear. Look, the pieces are already cut up! You can just grab it with your hands!”

“But….” I give a sad pout.

“Oh, God,” Gabe sighs and uses his fingers to grab a piece and put it on my plate. I look at it distastefully.

There’s frosting on his fingers. He licks it off, thinks for a second, and then grabs another piece to put on his own plate. Grabbing two forks he leads me to a couple chairs against the wall.

We sit down and eat. I finish my cake and my donut, and then ask Gabe to get us seconds while I get more apple juice. The table with all the food on it is near the door, and while I pour my drink I can see Grandma talking to Ashley. Ashley pulls out some papers from the pile she brought in and hands them to Grandma. She then goes into Daddy’s desk and pulls out some more papers. Grandma examines everything with a frown. She turns back towards Ashely and nods. She walks towards the door, but at the last second says something else to Ashley, who looks down at her feet. She replies, and Grandma seems disappointed.

“I wonder what they’re talking about,” I say.

“Grandma looks mad,” Gabe notices. “Do you know why?”

I shrug and go back to our seats.

Once Grandma finishes talking to Ashley, she comes over to us and tells us to eat quickly. Every worker in the room turns to give her a “Good afternoon, Mrs. Brooks,” or a polite nod.

On Tuesday, Grandma calls Molly, my piano teacher, and asks her to come in to give me a lesson. The night before I cried to my grandmother about how I wanted something to go back to normal, so I guess this was her way of giving me that.

When Molly came in, she gave me a long hug, then hugged Grandma and Gabe, too. After she had a short conversation with Grandma, she sat down in a chair next to my stool. Looking through my folder of music sheets, she couldn’t decide what to give me.

“I know,” she says at last. “Why don’t you play your dad’s favorite piece? Remember how proud of you he was when you mastered it?”

I nod my head, but there are tears threatening to fall. I had never cried in front of Molly before. I didn’t want her to think that I was a baby who couldn’t get over anything. I wanted her to think that I was the girl who wanted to make her father proud, so I was determined to play it.

My fingers are stiff when I hit the first note. Molly doesn’t say anything. When I bring my right hand to play along, my fingers don’t flow — they just jab at the keys. I can tell my wrists are too stiff. Molly still doesn’t correct me.

Daddy wouldn’t have liked that. He would have wanted you to play better. And you can play better. So why aren’t you? Why can’t you do it for Daddy? Do you want him to be disappointed in you?

I stop playing and my hands hover over the keys. They’re cold and shaking.

“Ella?” Molly tries to get my attention.

My shoulders drop, and my arms fall to my sides. I shake my head, staring down at the keys, at the instrument I loved so much. I don’t cry, but Molly still brings me in for a hug.

Grandma has work again on Wednesday, but I wasn’t looking forward to going back to the ICU. I asked her if I could go with her to the part of the hospital that she was working at and be away from the ICU for a little bit, but Grandma convinces me: “When Mama wakes up, don’t you want to see her right away, instead of later, after Gabriel gets a chance to come and get you?”

Thankfully we didn’t have to go into the waiting room, but whenever a doctor or Cheryl wanted to check in on Mama, they’d ask us to stand on the other side of the curtain for a few moments.

Gabe and I don’t cry as much as we had been the past couple days, and I was proud of us for it. A while after we had been sitting there, Gabe gets out of his seat and sits on the edge of Mama’s bed, putting his head on her stomach. He doesn’t cry — just looks at her. I go to the other side of her bed and hold the palm of her hand. I begin to tell her about how the first half of this week has gone, and how much I miss talking to her and hearing her laugh at the jokes Gabe always said weren’t funny.

He sits up and laces his hand through her fingers. We both sit silently.

I turn my head around in surprise at the sound of the curtain moving. Mama’s doctor holds the curtain open for a tall man who stares at us. His blond hair was messy, like how Gabe’s got sometimes when he’d forget to brush it. He stands there and looks between Mama and us. The doctor motions for him to take a seat, and he walks towards it, but doesn’t sit down.

He’s too quiet. It made me nervous. The area under his eyes were dark, and I knew he hadn’t slept for at least two days. Daddy’s eyes did that sometimes, too.

I didn’t like him staring at us. I wanted to ask him what he was there for, but I try to be nice and say, “Hi. I’m Ella. This is Gabe. Are you here to see our mom?”

Finally he starts moving towards me, but his eyes were locked on Mama, so I move away and stand near Gabe.

He holds her hand. I hear him start crying. He kisses Mama’s knuckles in between his cries.

I’m almost mad. No one kissed Mama except for Daddy. And who was this man anyway? But seeing a grown man cry, waterfalls falling out of his eyes and his face scrunched, I start crying, too.

Gabe tries to comfort me, but my head jolts up when I hear the sheets moving. Mama shook her head around and finally looked at the man. She pulls her hand back and I think, “Ha!”.

He stands up straight and looks a little intimidating. “Hello, Riley,” he says.

Mama frowns at him. She then looks at us, her eyes wide. I want to jump and give her all the hugs and kisses in the world, but she looks so shocked I’m almost scared to move.

“Do I…,” she takes another look around the room. “Do I know you people?”

We all stare at Mama in shock. My heart thunders in my chest.

“Riley…,” the man starts. “It’s me… Liam.”

“Who? I don’t… I don’t know you….”

“Mom, what do you mean?” Gabe asks, he reaches for her hand, but she pulls it back. Gabe’s face falls, defeated.

The curtain moves again, and Grandma walks in. Immediately, I rush to her and cry, “Mama doesn’t remember us, Grandma, Mama doesn’t know us!”

Cheryl was right behind her, and once she hears me, she turns back and calls the doctor in. Grandma pulls me out, calling for Gabe, and the doctor asks the man to step out as well.

We stand at a distance from the curtain for a few moments. I can hear the doctor talking inside, but I don’t know what she’s saying. The man who said he was Liam turns to Grandma and asks in a small voice, “Has her condition improved since the incident?”

“Not significantly,” Grandma responds. “She’s been unconscious ever since the surgery on Sunday. This is the first time she’s woken up.”

Another man, this one with dark hair, walks up to us and goes, “Surgery?”

Grandma looks at him. “Yes. She suffered a head injury.”

“Are you the nurse assigned to her?” Liam questions.

“No,” she answers. “I am her mother.”

“Ah,” Liam holds out his hand. “Liam Rys. A pleasure to meet you.”

Grandma shakes his hand, not breaking eye contact. Liam regards Gabe and I.

“These two are…?”

“My grandchildren. Riley’s children. Eleanor and Gabriel.”

Both men stare at Grandma, their mouths slightly agape. “I see.” Liam clears his throat. He looks down at us and forces a smile. “It’s nice to meet you two.”

The doctor finally comes out from the curtain and says something to a couple of nurses. She then comes to us and says, “We’re going to take her in for another CT scan. See if there’s anything we didn’t notice before.”

“Of course,” Liam goes.

The doctor motions the two men towards the waiting room, and then comes back to us.

“Will you let me know what happens?” Grandma asks. “I have to take these two home.”

“Of course,” the doctor promises.

We leave the hospital, not saying anything to one another.

Once we’re in the elevator of our building, Gabe turns to Grandma and questions her, “Grandma did you know who those men were?”

“I knew the blond one. Liam,” she answers, continuing to stare at the elevator doors. “I could guess who the second one was. Your Mama told me about them some time ago.”

“Why are they here? I’ve never seen them before.”

“Because now they know where your Mama is.”

“They didn’t know before?” I ask.

“No,” Grandma says curtly.

“Why?” Gabe continues. I almost tell him to stop. Grandma looks annoyed, but I want to know why, too.

“Because they didn’t know Mama’s last name was Blaise.”

Gabe scoffs. “What did they think it was?”

“Brooks.” She still doesn’t look at us. My anxiety increases, and I want to almost yell at her to just be direct with us.

“Why did they think she had your last name?” I question.

“Because that’s what Mama’s last name was before she got married.”

“So they didn’t know where she was because…,” Gabe starts, but he doesn’t know what to say next.

“Because her name changed?” I continue for him.

“Yes. And no one knew what your Mama looked like. Your Daddy told people he was married. People only knew his wife’s name, not her face. Now people know her face, so they used her old name.”

“Did Daddy do that on purpose?” I wonder aloud.

“Yes,” Grandma says.

Gabe looks at me, frowning. He’s confused, just as I am. I can see he still wants to ask questions. I want to ask some, too, but the fact that Grandma hadn’t looked at us when she spoke made me think she was mad. I didn’t want her to get angrier.

For dinner we have some leftover pasta from the night before. We eat in silence, scared that we would agitate Grandma. But once she finishes her plate, she looks up at us. “I don’t want you both talking to those men, okay?”

“Yes, Grandma,” we say, but I want to ask more questions. I decide against it, and go to sleep confused.

The next day, they finally move Mama into a regular hospital room. There are two more men who came to see Mama. Today was the day that they were going to ask her questions. First the doctors and Grandma asked questions, and they found out that she knew her own name and she knew who Grandma was. Mama also knew the names of every school she had gone to.

Next, they asked us if we wanted to go ask questions. We walked in, but once we looked at Mama, and Mama’s empty, emotionless face looked back at us, Gabe and I couldn’t say anything, so we shook our heads.

They let us sit in the little room with her. Cheryl stayed, too, in the corner of the room. Liam was the next person. He stood at a distance from her this time. He looked like he had done enough crying for everyone in the room. He gently asked her about a bar who’s name I had never heard of, then about the Statue of Liberty, then about some place called Corndania, I think it was. I thought it was the name of a town, and wanted to tell him that she had never been there. Then he asked if she remembered anything about a social season or a tour. I could tell that he had to stop himself from asking her more questions. With every sentence, Mama looked more distressed, and the same distress was mirrored on Liam’s face. She looked like she was going to cry, and I thought it was interesting that she didn’t.

Then the other man that was here yesterday walked in after Liam left.

“Do you recognize me?” he asked.

“No,” she stated.

“Name’s Drake.” He lifted his eyebrows.

She nods.

For a couple moments, they just stare at each other. Mama looks like she’s trying to memorize his face. 

He doesn’t look like he has much to say. Drake catches his breath and starts again: “Do… do you remember what I said to you, at Applewood Manor, or what happened when the court was there?”

“…Where?”

“You don’t… remember anything about Applewood?”

“No. At least, I don’t think so….”

“Well… then do you remember when you helped me pick an engagement gift for Liam?”

“For who?”

He paused. “Liam…. The guy that was just in here.”

“Oh. No, I don’t. Did you end up with a nice gift?”

“I did, thanks to you.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah…,” Drake trails off. He sniffles and wipes at his eyes. “Well, I don’t have anything else to ask you, really. There are two guys who are gonna come in next, Maxwell and Bertrand. After that some detectives are gonna ask some questions.”

“Okay.”

He opens his mouth to say something more, but decides against it and walks out.

While we wait for Maxwell and Bertrand, Gabe asks her a question: “Do you remember us? Or know who we are?”

She examines us for a second. “No.”

“What about our dad? Do you remember him?” Gabe continues.

“What’s your dad’s name?” she asks.

“Theodore. Theodore Blaise.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve known him since we were both kids. I think we went to high school together? Maybe it was elementary. It might have been both.”

Gabe and I look at each other. Mama and Daddy had never told us how long they had known one another, so we didn’t know how to react.

Two men walk in, and I assume that they’re Maxwell and Bertrand. The one in the vest notices us, and gapes. “Who are you? What are you doing in here?” The second man turns to look as well.

“We’re Ella and Gabe. That’s our Mama.” I point at my mother.

The men look at each other for so long I imagine they’ve turned into statues. “Baby blossoms?” one of them breathes. The other one scoffs at him.

“Aren’t you here to ask her some questions?” Cheryl asks. I almost forgot she was in the room.

The man in the vest clears his throat. “Yes.”

They walk up to the foot of the bed. The second man goes, “Do you remember us, little blossom?”

Mama shakes her head.

“Duke Bertrand Beaumont of Ramsford,” says the one with the vest. “Does that ring a bell?”

“No,” she answers.

“I’m Maxwell,” the second one continues. “Do you remember our Beaumont Bash? Or our investigation on the Engagement Tour?”

“I… don’t know what that is…,” she states.

The men look at each other hopelessly.

We see people in suits at the door to her room. They knock and come in, and ask the two men to step out. “You too, kiddos,” one of them commands, almost as an afterthought.

Gabe and I follow behind Maxwell and Bertrand. Near the door, Liam and Drake are waiting for them. I look around for Grandma.

“Any luck?” Drake asks.

The two men shake their heads.

“What about you two?” Liam asks us in a gentle voice. We look at each other, wondering if Grandma would be mad if we answered a simple question. “Did you get to ask her anything?”

“We asked her if she knew us,” Gabe starts, turning back towards the man, “but she said no. She remembers our dad, though, but from when she was a kid.”

“Ah,” Liam breathes. “Were you both at the museum when… everything happened?”

I don’t really like him, so I stay quiet. Gabe answers, simply saying, “No.”

“You two didn’t have school today?” Maxwell asks.

“Grandma got us time off.”

“That must be nice.”

Gabe shrugs. “I guess.”

After a few moments, the third man, whose name I assume is Bertrand, asks us, “How old are you two?”

“I just turned ten. Ella’s seven.”

He makes a “humph?” sound, as if he’s confused, and frowns. Grandma calls to us from the other side of the room, talking to another nurse. We wave goodbye.

“Will you both be coming back tomorrow?” Liam asks.

“No. Tomorrow’s our dad’s funeral,” Gabe answers. I grab his arm and try to pull him away. I don’t want Grandma to see us talking to them.

“Maybe we’ll see you guys on Saturday?” Maxwell inquires cheerfully.

“Maybe. I don’t know.” We wave again and walk next to Grandma. Once she sees that we’re at her side, she grabs our hands and leads us out. I wonder if she’s going to reprimand us for talking to those men, but for the rest of the night she talks to us about something that one of her patients did, and doesn’t mention any of the four men or Mama.

\- Bastien -

After paying the taxi cab driver, Bastien stands to regard the modern building in front of him. The doorman eyes him, smiling. Bastien gives him a curt nod and the man holds the door open for him. There’s another staff member in similar uniform at the reception desk. “Excuse me, sir?” he calls out to Bastien. “Can I help you?”

“No, thank you,” Bastien doesn’t look at him. “I know where I’m going.”

Theodore Blaise’s funeral should have ended more than five hours ago. He knew that Riley’s children and her mother would be back in their penthouse by now.

He walks into the elevator and presses the number he memorized.

A woman walks in and reaches over Bastien to click her button. When they reach his floor, she watches him silently step out and walk down the short hall way.

Once Bastien gets to the end of said hallway, he knocks on the last door.

When the door doesn’t open, he knocks again.

Eleanor is the one to open it. Her short, curly hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail. She wears a white leotard and pointe shoes. Sweat drips from the corner of her brow, but her breathing is even.

“Hi,” she says.

“Hello,” Bastien looks behind her. “Is your grandmother nearby?”

“Yes.”

“Could you go get her, please?”

“Okay.” She closes the door.

A few moments pass, in which Bastien thinks that the girl left him just to pull on his strings. But the door opens again, this time by Charlotte Brooks.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Brooks. May I come in?”

The woman stares at Bastien for a moment. He can tell she’s contemplating whether to close the door in his face or not.

“Yes,” she allows, stepping aside.

Bastien takes a step in and regards the entryway. To his right he can see a doorway to a kitchen, and to his left are stairs going down.

Mrs. Brooks walks straight ahead, leading him into the living room with wall-length mirrors. Before she reaches the couches, she turns around. “Would you like to sit down?” she asks.

“No, thank you, ma’am.”

“Tea? Coffee?”

“I’m alright.”

“Then what are you here for? To spy on me again?”

“Sorry?” He frowns.

“Don’t you remember? A couple years ago you sent out a team to spy on my house. I saw you come and leave sometimes. It was around when my daughter left your king.”

Bastien holds up a hand. “I apologize for that, but I am here for something else.”

“What more do you want from my family?”

Bastien sighs. “Do you remember seeing Duke Bertrand yesterday? Him and his brother were there to see Lady Riley.”

“Yes, I remember. The one with the sweater vest.”

“Precisely. Your grandchildren spoke to him momentarily yesterday.”

Mrs. Brooks takes a deep breath. “And?”

“This morning the Duke alerted me that he believes Gabriel Blaise is His Majesty’s and Lady Riley’s son.”

She crosses her arms in front of her chest. “Do you have proof?”

“No,” he begins, “which is why I am here. If you have followed Cordonian news after His Majesty broke off his engagement with Countess Madeleine, you’ll know that he has had a lot of pressure to produce an heir to the throne.”

“So?”

“Some of his advisors and his step-mother have tried to convince him for years to marry or to begin attempts for a child who could later rule Cordonia. He continuously refuses, and his close friends know that he hasn’t gotten over Lady Riley. Since there has been no chance of them marrying or His Majesty having children, other countries have been quite… unfriendly, you could say, and some have even tried to begin hostile occupations in Cordonia, in an attempt to attack our king and our already weakened monarchy. If Gabriel is his heir, Cordonia would have stability, which is what the country and its people desperately need.”

“Did Liam tell you to come here?”

“No, ma’am. His friends simply helped me piece together the puzzle.”

“Does your king even know you’re here?”

Bastien sighs. “No, ma’am. I wished to speak to you first. I still believe His Majesty is oblivious to the fact that he may be a father, and wanted to make sure that you would be alright with us taking a DNA sample of your grandson.”

“So you asked me before talking to him about it because you wanted to finish the difficult task first?”

“…Yes.”

“Do you really think I would subject my family to the same type of pain that your king made my daughter suffer through? Do you really think I’m going to let my daughter, who was shamed by a foreign country, have her child be put to the same, if not similar, subjection?” Her voice breaks.

“I understand, ma’am—.”

“Do you now?” she interrupts, laughing.

“I am not asking you to do this for Cordonia. I am asking you to do this for a man. Wouldn’t you agree that every father has the right to meet his son?”

Mrs. Brooks takes a moment to absorb Bastien’s words. He can hear music playing from another room.

In a soft voice, quieter than a gentle summer breeze, Mrs. Brooks agrees, saying, “Alright. I’ll be bringing him and his sister to the hospital tomorrow. Tell the king before then.” At the last second she adds, “I’ll bring his birth certificate as well. Hopefully it’ll all be enough to prove paternity.”


	5. Test Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bastien tells Liam about Gabriel

\- Liam -

On Friday evening, no one was given a chance to see Riley. Different specialists checked her routinely, discussing their findings with one another. Liam asked politely at different times in the day if he would be allowed to speak to her for a few moments. They didn’t let him go in, claiming that the doctors needed their time to properly assess Riley’s condition.

A little before sunset, a sleep deprived, starving, agitated Liam marched up to Riley’s doctor and demanded they be given information about her health. 

The doctor leads him away from Riley’s door. Drake, Maxwell, and Bertrand follow. 

“I don’t know how much Riley Brooks’ mother has told you about her daughter’s condition,” the doctor states. “But rest assured that we are doing everything we can to help her recover.” 

“Really?” Drake spit. “All you’ve done is push different doctors into her room all day. From where we’re standing, none of them did anything—.”

“Please,” the doctor interrupts, holding up a hand. “Riley’s condition is very serious. She’s suffered a head injury. The procedure on Sunday morning was to repair a part of her skull and to stop internal bleeding. Since she’s woken up on Wednesday, we believe that she has something called post-traumatic amnesia.” 

“Which is?” Bertrand pesters.

“Short-term memory loss from the moment of her injury and for sometime afterwards. It can last from hours, to days, to weeks,” the doctor explains. 

“Short-term?” Liam forces out the words. “I’ve known that woman for the past eleven years. When I walked in she didn’t recognize me. I don’t believe that is what you call short-term.”

“Well… because you all came in and asked questions, whose answers you say that she should know, we believe that she may also be suffering from retrograde amnesia. She won’t be able to recall a significant number of events and persons from her past, even though all such events occurred before the incident and the development of the amnesia.”

“How long will that last?” Maxwell asks. 

“That part, we are unsure about,” the doctor states. “But, we’ve done some assessments and the post-traumatic amnesia seems to be wearing off. We think that the worst of it ended yesterday.” She pauses and looks at the men around her, analyzing their expressions. “We asked her about you folks—,” she gestures at the four men around her, “—her kids, her mother, and the detectives who came in to ask her questions yesterday, she said she didn’t remember a thing. We believe that’s the end to the PTA, but we’re going to run a couple more tests to make sure.” 

Liam’s heart drops to the pit of his stomach. When he moves back towards the chairs in front of Riley’s hospital room, he goes involuntarily: his shoulders slump and his head hangs low as he throws himself onto a seat. He buries his face in his hands, desperate for this feeling — this keen, despicable sense of despair, one he thought he had forgotten long ago — to end, once and for all.

“So we are nothing to her once more?” Bertrand breathes, the corners of his mouth pulled downwards.

The doctor sighs. “Unfortunately, yes, but again, we believe that’s the last of her short-term memory issues. On the case of retrograde amnesia, patients who have suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury don’t suffer from long-term memory loss for a great amount of time. If I were you, I would still have hope.” She pats Bertrand’s arm. 

A nurse sitting at the reception desk calls to the doctor: “Doc? You’re needed in the ICU.”

“I’ll be back,” she says, and then turns to leave.

Drake, Maxwell, and Bertrand join Liam and take a seat. Each of them has to force themselves to not look through Riley’s room window. If they looked, the pain would multiply. The bandages on her head and the empty, lost look on her face reminded them how she had slipped from their grasp again, even though she was right in front of them. 

After a few moments of watching doctors and nurses walking in and out of Riley’s room, Drake suggests to Liam, “Why don’t we go to the hotel tonight? Get some food in you. Rest for a bit. We’ll be back in the morning, soon as visiting hours start up again.”

“Your Majesty, I think that would be for the best,” Bertrand adds. “It isn’t healthy for you to be going on without sleep and food for so long.” 

“C’mon, Liam,” Maxwell joins in. “Bertrand and I will go with you guys.”

Liam rubs his hand over his face. The rest of them notice his red eyes, unshaven face, and how pink the edges of his mouth are. Silently nodding, he stands, and his friends follow him out of the hospital.

…

As soon as he got inside his hotel room, Liam collapsed on the bed, physically and emotionally exhausted. He didn’t dream; instead he dove into a blank abyss from which he returned from in what felt like no more than eight minutes.

When he woke up, it was already nine thirty. His mind urged him to get up and go back to Riley’s hospital bed, but his feet felt sore and his eyes burned when he opened them. He managed to kick off his shoes and shrug off his clothes on his way to the bathroom. He almost fell asleep in the shower, but the warm beating of water on his face gave him the energy he needed to get back to Riley. 

While he puts on some new clothes, there’s a heavy knock on the door. When he goes to open it, Drake holds up two large paper bags and two cups of coffee in a drink carrier. “New York bagels,” he says, handing Liam a bag. 

“Thank you, Drake.” Liam sits on the edge of his bed and dives into the large bagel, his stomach desperate for some food after having starved himself the past three days. Drake puts his friend’s coffee on the bedside table and opens up his own bag.

“I’d say I didn’t know you were that hungry,” Drake chuckles, shaking his head, “but looking at you now, I can tell you haven’t eaten in days.”

Liam’s already done with more than half his bagel. “Truly, I didn’t realize, either.” He takes a long sip of his coffee. “I’ve been so focused on Riley, making sure she’s been getting proper attention… and what I would say to her, given the chance.” Liam stares down at the floor with his meal in his hands while Drake continues eating.

Noticing Liam from the corner of his eye, Drake tells Liam, “Riley wouldn’t want you doing this to yourself.” 

Liam scoffs. 

“I’m serious. Just because something happened to her doesn’t mean she’d want you to hurt yourself, too.” 

They sit in quiet for a few more moments while they finish their meal.

Drake sends a text over to Maxwell, letting the Beaumonts know that him and Liam were on their way back to the hospital, when someone else knocks on the door. “Your Majesty?”

“Come in, Bastien,” Liam allows while he puts his shoes back on. 

Bastien walks in and regards Drake and Liam for a moment. “Your Majesty.” Bastien clears his throat. “Riley’s mother, Charlotte, will be at the hospital today with her grandchildren.” 

Liam stiffens for a moment. Her grandchildren. Riley’s children with Theodore Blaise. He must have been a worthy man to have deserved her.

“Great.” Drake sighs. “I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but she doesn’t seem to be a big fan of our’s.”

“Will she be visiting Riley?” Liam questions. 

“That is… part of the reason they are going,” Bastien continues.

“Ah, she also works there, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, but she doesn’t work today.”

“Then… what is she going for?” Liam notices the look of reserve on Bastien’s face. “Is everything alright? Did something happen to the children?”

“Not exactly,” Bastien begins. “To be frank, the boy, Gabriel, will be of our concern today.”

“What does that mean?” Drake walks closer to Bastien.

Bastien sighs. “On Thursday evening, the Duke of Ramsford alerted me that he believes Gabriel Blaise is actually your son.”

Liam stands. “What?” he spits. 

“He is ten years of age and his birthday was recently. It aligns with the time that you and Lady Riley were having an… intimate relationship.”

Liam blinks. “She… she….” He looks around the room in a daze, his mind blurred with memories of Riley during the Engagement Tour. Could she really have been pregnant? How did I not notice? Why didn’t she tell me? 

She wouldn’t have done that. She knows how much I’ve wanted a family. He breathes in heavy air, his eyes burning. She wouldn’t have done that to me, she wouldn’t have taken that from me.

Did I break her so badly that she wanted to keep my own son away from me?

“Your Majesty?”

Taking a moment to calm himself, Liam states, “Bastien, that is absurd.”

But is it? If she got pregnant around the end of the social season, or even some time during the Engagement Tour, she would have had the child around this time of year…. 

“Your Majesty, the only way to be certain is to take a paternity test. Charlotte Brooks agreed to bring the child to have it done today.”

“The hospital does paternity tests?” Drake asks. 

“I contacted them, and they said they only did genetic testing, but they recommended me to a lab center in Brooklyn.” Bastien holds out a piece of paper with the lab’s name on it. “I’ve alerted Mrs. Brooks, and have sent a car for her and the children so they would arrive safely.”

Brooklyn. Where we saw Riley for the first time all those years ago.

Liam nods, his head and heart still shaking with the thought that him and Riley had a son. Cordonia had an heir. For the past eleven years he believed that he would never become a father, but all this time, he already was one….

While they walk downstairs, Bastien explains that Charlotte Brooks gave permission on Riley’s behalf to have the paternity test done due to her condition, and went to get a DNA sample of her daughter this morning to increases the validity of the test and to make sure Gabriel will be tested accurately. 

Liam sits quietly, simply nodding at everything Bastien said. No matter how much he wanted to believe that there was a chance Riley’s son was his, he didn’t want to think about all the complications that would come about from the test being positive.

And how she never told him. He believed he deserved a life without Riley after all he had done to her, but had the bombing never happened, had Riley never gotten hurt — had her damned husband never died — would she have ever come back to tell him that he was a father? Would she have let him continue to live a life in ignorance?

The boy is ten years old. He experienced ten years of life without me. I experienced ten years of life without him. Did she think I couldn’t handle fatherhood? Did she think I wouldn’t take on the responsibility? What did I do so wrong? Why did she marry Theodore? I ended my engagement because of her, and she married another man to act as the father of my child?

Liam’s frustration and despair were increasing exponentially, and they were nearing the lab. he decided that whether the test came out positive or negative, he wouldn’t allow Gabriel to see his frustration. There must have been a reason Riley did such a thing. He would continue to hope that she would get a chance to explain. In the meantime, that child was was still Riley’s; the mere fact that there was another being on this planet who held even the slightest amount of Riley’s personality or looks made Liam’s heart swell. His son or not, he would protect both of Riley’s children in every way he didn’t protect Riley.

\- Gabriel -

Grandma scheduled Ella to have a private ballet lesson on Saturday morning. I thought she was gonna let me take a private soccer lesson, but instead she brings me to Brooklyn in a car that wasn’t her’s or Dad’s. When we get to a small building, Liam and Drake were inside waiting with another man I didn’t recognize. I wondered why they were here, since Mom was back in the hospital. Liam smiled at me and I smiled back, deciding that I would just ask Grandma about it later. 

Drake stayed behind while the rest of us were led into a room that looked like the inside of a doctor’s office: there was an examination table that Grandma told me to sit on, and another longer table were there was a jar of pens.

Two men came in: one wore a professional suit with a bunch of papers that Grandma and Liam started signing on the flat table, while the second one had a lab coat on who took out a very long Q-Tip and walked towards me. I give Grandma a questioning look, but she pats my arm and tells the man, “Go ahead.” 

He dragged the stick against the inside of my cheek. Then he put the Q-Tip in a little tube and then takes out another Q-Tip and repeats the whole process with Liam. I wonder if he’s about to do the same thing with Grandma, but instead she pulls out a tube from her purse and the man takes his three tubes and leaves.

The second man with all the papers is still here, looking over his bushy eyebrows at everything Liam and Grandma just signed. Liam and his friend look over expectantly at Grandma, who pulls out a piece of paper. 

“The birth certificate?” says Liam’s friend. 

Wait, is that mine? Or his? Or Grandma’s?

“Yes.” She hands him the paper and he begins to look over it. 

Both men furrow their brows. Liam’s head jumps back in confusion. 

“Full name,” begins Liam’s friend. “Gabriel Liam Blaise. Mother, Riley Brooks Blaise…. Why is the spot of father empty?”

“It’s allowed in the U.S.,” says Bushy Eyebrows. “If the mother is married to someone who is not the father, or if the father was not at the birth and did not sign and send in an Acknowledgement of Paternity form, then the name of the father is left blank on the certificate.” 

“Riley was already married to Theodore by the time Gabriel was born,” Grandma explains, “which is why the last name is Blaise. She thought that it wouldn’t be appropriate to have his last name be Rys since she planned to pass Gabe off to the public as Theodore’s. But she still put your first name as his middle name. It was her way of connecting you both, since neither of you knew of the other’s existence.”

Grandma takes a moment and scans the men’s shaken faces — even Bushy Eyebrows glances between everyone with wide eyes. Liam looks like he’s mixed between anger and sadness. His friend continues to examine the paper.

“As far as I know,” Grandma states, “Gabriel is your son.”

At this point, I have absolutely no idea what was going on. Grandma never explained anything to me before we got here, and now I was too scared to speak up and ask questions. 

A part of me thought that she was giving me away since Dad had died. But she had told Liam that I was her son? Did that mean he was my father? But I didn’t even know who he was? And what about Ella? Was Grandma going to give me away and then keep my sister? Would I never see her again? Could Grandma not take care of us by herself since Mom was in the hospital? 

“Do you know why Riley never told me?” Liam asks Grandma, his voice breaking.

“Oh, she tried to,” Grandma reveals. “But only once, I believe. Riley didn’t tell me anything about it, but as far as I know, it didn’t go down well.”

Liam looks down at the floor, then pushes his shoulders back and looks at Grandma. “If the test comes back positive, then I will have to present him as my heir to the people of Cordonia.”

Grandma frowns, and she looks offended. I half expect her and Liam to start arguing, but Liam’s friend says, “Perhaps it will be best to discuss the specifics when the results come back. They told me it usually takes three to five business days, but I have made sure that this will be their top priority, and we could possibly get the results back before Monday or Tuesday.” 

Bushy Eyebrows stands, shaking everyone’s hands but mine, and then leaves. We all walk out of the building together. Liam and Grandma nod at one another, and Liam gives me a pat on the back before getting in the car with Drake and his other friend.

Grandma and I get into our car and drive away, on our way to pick up Ella from her class. 

“Grandma?” I begin. I wanted to know what happened in there. I wanted to know if my family was really getting rid of me. “What was all that for?” 

She sighs. “Nothing for you to worry about right now, baby. I promise in a couple of days I’ll explain everything to you and Ella, but right now there’s nothing to worry about.”

“But Grandma, I… I… why did you tell the man that I was his son? Did you say that because Dad died? I thought I was Dad’s son. Grandma please, I’m so confused.” A couple tears fall from my eyes as my chest tightens. If those guys take me away while Mom is in the hospital, will I ever see her again? Will I ever see Ella or Grandma again? I didn’t want to go anywhere with those men. I didn’t even know them until Wednesday, and I still don’t technically know them.

“Gabriel—!” The sting of her tone shuts me up, and I lean back into my seat, doing my best not to cry. 

When Ella gets in the car, she asks me what’s wrong. I shake my head and continue silently crying to myself the rest of the ride home, wishing that Mom and Dad were with us again.


	6. Worries and Concerns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam breaks the news to Maxwell and Bertrand, while Regina wonders where the king is.

\- Maxwell - 

On Saturday morning, Savannah said that she wanted to come along to visit Riley. Her first few days in New York had been spent in the hotel or walking around the city with Bartie; she wanted a chance to visit Riley since everyone else had seen her already, and she thought that Riley seeing another person from her past might help trigger some memories. They couldn’t leave Bartie alone in the hotel, so Maxwell suggested that they bring him along, hoping that Riley’s children will be there and might become friends with Bartie. 

During the drive over to the hospital, Maxwell receives a text from Drake: 

Liam and I are about to leave. Meet you guys at the hospital.   
Almost an hour after they’ve been at the hospital — they had been piled in the waiting room most of the time — Liam and Drake still haven’t shown up. Bertrand looks around for Bastien, who isn’t there either. 

Riley’s doctor comes up to Maxwell and Bertrand, telling them that they can go in and talk to Riley for a few minutes before her next check-up. 

Maxwell looks back in the direction of the stairs and the elevator, hoping that Liam and Drake would show up within the next couple seconds, but only hospital staff and other patients come into view. 

“Perhaps His Majesty had some business to take care of. Come along now,” Bertrand says, pulling Maxwell into Riley’s room. 

The bandage had been removed from Riley’s head, and now there was just a large gauze taped to a part of her hairline. Maxwell wondered if she had eaten anything since she was brought into the hospital: she looked so boney that her body barely disturbed the sheets pulled over her, and the only dent Maxwell noticed was her leg in a cast.

Savannah walked up to the side of her bed while Bartie lingered at the door.

“Hey, Riley,” she said. “How are you feeling?” 

“I’m doing alright,” Riley answers, glancing at everyone in the room. “Feeling a bit better, but sometimes I get a little woozy.”

Savannah motions Bartie to come stand next to her. “Do you remember Bartie? I mean, he was just a baby when you first saw him, but I thought maybe…?”

“No… sorry.” Riley forced a smile and looked away.

“You might not remember us from a couple days ago when we came in to ask questions, but I’m Maxwell.” He holds out his hand for Riley to shake. 

“Oh, hello.” She gives a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

“Duke Bertrand Beaumont of Ramsford.” Bertrand reaches to shake her hand. 

“You’re a duke?” Riley asks. 

“Yes. The Beaumonts have served the royal family and the people of Cordonia for generations,” Bertrand states. 

“Cordonia? I’ve never been.” 

Bertrand’s face falls momentarily, but he fixes himself, his mouth forming a straight line with a hint of disappointment. “Perhaps one day you could visit.”

“Maybe.”

After a few seconds of silence, Savannah says, “Riley needs some rest. We’ll be right outside.” 

They walk out, closing the door behind them. The adults avoid each others’ eyes, while Bartie looks between them quizzically. 

A while later, before they’re all about to leave to go have some lunch, Drake and Liam show up, with Bastien trailing behind them. 

“Liam! Drake!” Maxwell cries. “Where were you guys? They let us see Riley for a few moments.”

“They did?” Liam’s eyes go wide. “Did… did she say anything? Did she recognize any of you?” 

They shake their heads. “No, but we introduced ourselves.” They notice the doctor and two nurses walk into Riley’s room. “Looks like they’re going to take some more tests, so I guess we won’t be able to go in for a while. Where were you guys anyway?”

Liam sighs, seemingly preparing himself for his next words. “A DNA lab center. In Brooklyn.” 

“What were you doing there?” Maxwell gives a questioning look. 

Bertrand jumps into the conversation before Liam can say anything. “I was the one who informed Bastien that it would be appropriate to have one done, as I was suspicious that Riley’s son may have been fathered by His Majesty and not her late husband.” 

“Yes,” Liam continues. “And Riley’s mother confirmed that I am the father.” 

“What?” Maxwell and Savannah cry in union. 

A shadow of mild surprise passes over Bertrand’s face. “I did not expect Mrs. Brooks to admit it, but it is convenient that she did.” 

Liam, staring at the ground with his jaw set, explains, “She told Bastien and I that they didn’t put Riley’s husband’s name as the father on the boy’s birth certificate because he wasn’t the father, but also because I wasn’t there to acknowledge paternity.”

“Woah…,” Maxwell comments. “That must be… a lot to take in.” 

Liam squints down at his shoes, eyebrows furrowed.

Drake puts a hand on his shoulder. “You good, Liam?” 

Liam shakes his head. “The boy is ten years old.” He looks back up. “I never knew. I should have… I should have tried harder to find her. Riley’s mother said that she had tried to reach out to me, but only once. Now here we are,” he throws up his hands, “I’ve a son who knows nothing of me, just as I know nothing of him, and the only woman who can explain everything knows nothing of us.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it, Liam,” Maxwell consoles. “Maybe she didn’t tell you because… because….” He glances over towards Bertrand and Savannah for help. 

“Because of everything that happened with Tariq and the scandal? Because I was engaged to Madeleine? Because of my father’s actions against her, she no longer want anything to do with me?” 

“Liam, no—,” Drake tries to interrupt Liam’s train of thought. 

“Was she afraid of me? Afraid that I wouldn’t want him?”

“Liam,” Drake stops him. “What happened, happened. There’s a reason Riley never told you. Whatever it is, she’ll be able to tell us when her memory comes back.”

Maxwell didn’t want to voice his concern: what if Riley’s memory didn’t come back? Since she recognized her mother, then maybe she would want to stay in New York. Would we have to leave her here, or would she still want to come to Cordonia with us? 

What about her kids? We should really ask them how they’re doing. Those poor baby blossoms would want to stay with their mother. But if Gabriel was Liam’s son, then there’s no doubt that he’ll want to bring him back to Cordonia as his heir. Even if he decides against that, Bertrand will convince him to, and if Regina finds out, she might force him. 

Liam sighs. There are chairs in front of Riley’s room, and everyone takes a seat. For almost half an hour, no one speaks, but they look up every time any person interacted with Riley’s door. After about half an hour, Bartie whispers to his mother that he’s hungry. Savannah asks the group if anyone wanted to come with or if they wanted her to bring them back anything. No one moves, and so she and Bartie walk towards the exit. 

Maxwell wanted to go with; he wanted to go and show Bartie all the sights, have him try his favorite foods, to experience Coney Island with him — but he was pulled back from those desires and glued to his seat because of Riley. She was hurt. She needed his help, He wanted to help her, help the long lost member of his house who always appreciated him. He just didn’t know how to help her. 

He wanted to help Liam, too. Maxwell could tell that Liam was experiencing a pain deeper than any of them would ever know. Riley getting her memory back would be just as painful of a process as her not getting her memory back. 

A few hours later they all step out for a moment to go have dinner, and when they come back to the hospital, they find Riley’s mother in Riley’s room. 

“Mrs. Brooks,” Liam greets politely when the woman steps out. There’s a genuine smile on his face. “It is nice to see you again.” 

“Yes,” Mrs. Brooks responds. She doesn’t say anything else, and the both of them stare at each other awkwardly. Maxwell, Drake, and Bertrand look between the two nervously. 

“Are Gabriel and Eleanor here?” Liam breaks the silence.

“No. They’re at home. A family friend is taking care of them for the night.” 

“I see. I hope Gabriel was not distressed after everything that was spoken about today?” 

“Gabriel has been emotionally distressed this entire week. The only father he’s every known died in a horrible attack, and now he has to deal with his mother not knowing him and another person coming into his life trying to take him away from his family.”

The tension increases. “Of course, ma’am, I understand. I have no intention to take him away from the rest of his family. And I know how difficult it is to lose a parent at such a young age. I would not wish or purposefully position anymore stress on Gabriel.”

“Just as you didn’t purposefully position Riley into back-to-back stressful situations?”

Liam sighs. There’s a shadow of regret on his face. It lingers for longer than expected. “I did my best to protect Riley during the social season and during my engagement. I did my best to keep her from any type of harm, emotional or physical.”

She scowls. “Oh, I’m sure you did—,” she tries to continue accusing Liam, seemingly irritated by his very presence, but another nurse taps her shoulder and whispers something to her. Eventually, Mrs. Brooks turns back around. “I just came here to check up on Riley. My shift is about to start on another floor. Have a good night.” She nods and walks off. 

“Damn,” Drake comments. “She really doesn’t like you.”

They stay in the hospital for another hour. Everyone but Liam goes in and asks Riley a few questions that they think might jog her memory. They make sure she’s comfortable, and Liam speaks to doctors and nurses about any improvements in her condition. Once Riley falls asleep, they convince Liam to go back to the hotel for the rest of the night. He protests, saying that he needs to be there in case anything happens, but Bertrand is able to get Riley’s doctor to promise that she will call if any change were to happen. 

They leave the hospital together, but when they part, Maxwell notices Liam’s unusual expression: he seemed both stressed and relieved, hopeful and helpless, joyful yet upset. Maxwell looks away once he realizes that his emotions throughout the day were the same, and only now does he recognize his own feelings on the faces of his friends and brother.

\- Regina -

After Constantine’s long-expected death at the hands of cancer, Regina, the aging Queen Mother, removed herself from ruling, putting the responsibility fully on her step-son. 

She knew he could handle it; if her late husband was confident in giving his second son the crown, she refused to let a drop of doubt enter her heart. 

Madeleine’s engagement to Liam — though it happened in an unexpected way through the will of Constantine — still brought joy to Regina: she would be able to continue to serve her country through the hands of her niece, who she held in the highest regard. 

But once that engagement ended after Tariq’s statement was released, Regina consoled herself that even if she could not have her own kin rule beside her step-son, at least it would be a woman who was passionate about being at Liam’s side and would support his love for his country. 

Yet, once again, she was disappointed. Once the court came back to Cordonia and Liam had confirmed the rumors that his engagement had ended, he also stated that he did not see himself being engaged again in the near future. 

For a few weeks, Regina and Constantine let him be, but after time had passed, Constantine expressed his concern for Cordonia’s stability, stating that if he ended his engagement to be with Lady Riley, then he should make her his queen for the stability of his country.

Liam revealed to him that Lady Riley had disappeared without notice, but he had made it his duty to look for her and bring her back to them. 

Years went by and Constantine passed away. Liam seemed no closer to marrying or producing an heir, and so Regina began to pester him to look for another woman. Whether it be during the next social season or while traveling like Leo, he had to marry. For Cordonia. 

Almost every Duke, Duchess, Count, Countess, Lord, and Lady of the Cordonian court and foreign courts had pushed either themselves or their daughters in front of the unwed King, but he had barely given the women a glance. 

Her concerns and demands fell on deaf ears, but Regina never gave up. Barely a week would go by when she did not remind him of his duty. But as she got older and her body began to fail her in terms of mobility, she would visit his office only in moments of extreme rebelliousness on his part. Otherwise, she would just call him from the comfort of her quarters.

It was Sunday afternoon, and she had just had a very irritable brunch with her cousin, Adelaide, who had been requesting a meal with Regina everyday for the past six weeks. Adelaide had done nothing but talk about Madeleine’s recent humanitarian accomplishments with the poor youth of Cordonia. Regina didn’t want to be reminded of Liam’s failed engagement, and so she feigned a migraine and dismissed Adelaide.

After today’s brunch, Regina could not help but think of every way that Liam was failing his country. 

She asked a servant to bring her cellphone and to dial Liam’s number, her heart aflame with annoyance and disappointment. The line was disconnected, and she was asked to leave a voicemail. She disconnected and called him again. And then again. And then again. She called a total of ten times, and yet still Liam did not answer. 

She asked a servant to give her his arm and lead her towards the King’s study, and sent another one who find out where the King was. 

Inside of his study, there were papers scattered all over his desk. She expected that he had been working and had simply stepped out for a few moments. 

Where could he be without his cellphone? 

Her servant walked back in. 

“Well?” Regina yells. “Where is His Majesty?” 

“Your Highness,” the young man begins. “Some other staff members have informed me that His Majesty left for America on Tuesday evening.” 

“For what reason?” 

“They do not know.” 

She sends him out again to find more information on her step-son’s location. Hours later, none of her servants have told her anything useful, but Liam calls her back. 

“Regina,” she hears once she brings the phone to her ear. “Is everything alright?”

“No, Liam, everything is not alright!” she screams into the phone. “Where have you gone?”

“I am overseas, Regina,” Liam explains.

“When will you be returning?” she interrogates. 

There’s a pause. “I do not know, but will inform you when I am more certain.”

Regina doesn’t respond, and Liam doesn’t say anything more. Eventually, after spending a long moment deep in thought, Regina speaks: “Does your trip have anything to do with your search for Lady Riley?”

“It does, in fact.” 

Fuming, Regina continues: “Then I hope you are there to bring her back and marry her, with no more of the uncooperative and pathetic stalling that you’ve done this past decade. Cordonia needs stability. A strong ruler means nothing if his position is not secure.”

“I will not be forcing Lady Riley to return. She will go wherever she wishes, and it will be upon her own terms.” 

“Liam, have you gone mad?”

He doesn’t respond, and Regina can hear other people speaking on the other end. 

“Where are you then?” she continues questioning. “Los Angeles? New York? Miami?”

“New York, Regina, we are all together in New York.” He pulls the phone away from his ear and Regina can hear him talking to other voices. Eventually, he speaks again: “I cannot talk right now Regina. Have a nice day.” 

The call ends. Regina tells one of her personal servants to go get a member of her guard. 

What foolishness has that boy gotten himself into? If Lady Riley is within his grasp, then he must bring her back. She has done too much harm to Cordonia already, a harm that has multiplied as time has gone on. If she was not able to support this country before, then what use is she now?

Liam has spent year upon year longing for her, and now he does not want to bring her back? Why the sudden change? Where did she end up? Is she manipulating him somehow?

“Your Highness?” someone knocks on the door. 

“Erik, come in,” Regina calls to the most trustworthy member of her guard.

“How can I be of service?” he steps into the room. 

“His Majesty is currently in New York,” she says to him. “Foolish boy went there to find Lady Riley.” 

“I remember her, ma’am.” 

“To my understanding, he has found her, but for some reason is not willing to bring her back. I want you to go there and find out why.” 

“Of course, ma’am. I will depart as soon as possible.”

“Thank you. Let me know what you find as soon as you find it, but try not to interfere in whatever is happening. I am not going to let that young man bring Cordonia to the brink of ruin just because his feelings towards some trollop are no longer returned.”


	7. Photographs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabe’s having a difficult time at school, and Olivia gets some suspicious information

\- Eleanor - 

Gabe and I go back to school on Monday. It was uneventful, but all of my friends were especially nice to me and my teacher told me that I didn’t have to worry about any of the work I missed. In the middle of math, the school counselor took me out of class and told me I could come and talk to her if there was anything I needed. I told her I was alright and walked back to my seat, feeling the eyes of the entire class on me.

Around noon, it was time for lunch. Grandma had packed our meals the night before. I took my lunch bag and started walking with my class to the cafeteria where we would eat. We passed by the main office, where I saw Gabe, sitting along the wall of the room with his backpack on the seat next to him. I ran up to my teacher and pointed out my brother, asking if I could sit with him for lunch. 

“That’s fine, Eleanor,” she allowed, “but make sure you come back to line up with us when the bell rings.”

I go into the main office, and the secretary smiles at me. I tell her that I was there to have lunch with my brother, and she nods. 

I sit down in the seat next to Gabe. Both of our classes had lunch right now, but it didn’t look like he had eaten. “Aren’t you hungry?” I ask him. 

He shakes his head. 

I take out my sandwich and start eating, glancing at Gabe to see if he would reach for his own lunch. When I was done with my sandwich, I threw out my wrapper in the trash next to the secretary’s desk and opened up Gabe’s backpack to take out his lunchbox. 

Mama and Daddy had bought us our lunchboxes when I started kindergarten. We found one with my name on it, and since we couldn’t find one with Gabe’s name on it, Daddy bought him the Avengers one and Mama later sewed his name on. 

Remembering Mama and Daddy together, when they were both alive and well, made me sad again. I had so far gone the whole day without feeling any hints of tears. Now, standing in the office, with Gabe not talking to me and the reminder that Mama and Daddy were both technically gone, I wanted to cry again. 

I forced myself not to. Instead I placed Gabe’s lunchbox on his lap. I had to show Gabe that everything was alright, and I couldn’t do that if I was crying. 

I start eating the cookies that Grandma packed me. I take out an Oreo and wave one in front of Gabe’s face, hoping that he would take it, but he just shakes his head. 

I put the rest of the cookies back into my bag, feeling weird about being the only person in the room eating — especially since I wasn’t even sure if we were allowed to eat in the main office — and then the secretary turns to me and asks, “Honey, what’s your grandmother’s phone number? I called her workplace and they wouldn’t put me through.”

I give her the number. Gabe continues to stare down at his lap. 

“Hi! Mrs. Brooks?” the secretary cries. “This is Miss Newman, Mr. Henderson’s secretary from Gabriel’s school? Yes I’m just calling to ask if you could pick him up? Oh, no he’s been an absolute angel! It’s just that, he had a nervous breakdown during science and disrupted the class…. Yes, he’s here in the office with me. Oh, you would like to speak to him? Sure!” She motions at Gabe to come over to her and take the phone, but he still hasn’t looked up from his lap. “Gabriel!” Miss Newman violently whispers. 

After a few more moments of her trying to get Gabe on the phone, she begins talking to Grandma again. 

“Gabriel’s not in too good of a mood right now. Principal Henderson asked me to call you. Yes, he spoke with him. No, he won’t be suspended, but we’re asking you to keep him home for a few more days until you’re sure he’s doing better. He’ll be home without consequences, yes. Oh, you’ll pick up Eleanor as well? Great! I’ll have her collect her things.” 

As soon as she hangs up, I nod at her and then walk out of the office, leaving my lunchbox with Gabe. I go to the cafeteria where my teacher is and tell her that I’m being picked up and need to go back into the class to get my things. Another teacher watches the class as I’m led back up to the classroom. I give my thanks to her for opening the door, and then dash back down towards the office.

When we get in Grandma’s car, Gabe’s head still hung low. I wanted to give him a hug, mostly because I wanted one, but I decided against it. 

We don’t talk during the drive, and we don’t talk on the elevator ride up. Once we’re inside our penthouse, Gabe goes towards his room, but Grandma calls him back. 

Gabe shrugs his bag off and falls back onto the couch, staring at his shoes. 

Grandma sighs. “Gabriel, Eleanor. I have something important I need to talk to you about.”

“Is it about what happened at school?” Gabriel mumbles.

Grandma sighs, but doesn’t answer. “Gabe, baby, do you remember where you and I went on Saturday after dropping off Ella for a ballet class?”

He nods. 

“Well, we went over there to get a test taken. To see if that man, Liam, was your father.”

“But…,” I say, frowning. Neither of them had told me where they had went. “Isn’t… Daddy Gabe’s father?”

Grandma ignores me. “The test came back positive, which means that Liam is your dad.”

“Both of our… dad?” Gabe and I look between each other and Grandma. My heart was racing. How could Liam be his father if we didn’t know who Liam was? And what about Daddy? Did suddenly not exist for Grandma?

“No, baby,” Grandma explains. “Your mother was with Liam before she was with Theodore, which means that Liam is your father, Gabe, and that Theodore is Ella’s father.”

“But… but…,” Gabe sits forward, panic and heavy tears in his eyes. “Does that mean… wait… Grandma do I have to go live with him?”

Grandma doesn’t answer, and Gabe starts crying. 

“I don’t wanna do that Grandma, I don’t wanna leave. I don’t wanna leave you and Ella, I don’t wanna leave Mom,” he pleads.

My breathing quickens. I don’t want Gabe to leave us either. If he was going to leave, then I’d have no more siblings to play around with, or tease, or cry with, or laugh with, or talk about my day with, or ask for help, or anything. I couldn’t do those things with Grandma or Mama. I would be alone.

Grandma rushes over to sit in between us and holds Gabe in her arms. “No, baby,” she whispers. “I’m not going to let that happen.” 

She does her best to soothe him. The power of his sobs increases and decreases. When Gabe’s tears subside and the only proof of him having cried were his whimpers, Grandma grabs both of our hands. 

“Come on, let’s go visit Mama.” We nod. “Do you want to know what the doctor told me?” We shake our heads. “She said that showing Mama pictures can help bring her memory back. Do you want to try that?” 

We jump up from our seats and race into Mama and Daddy’s room, where all the family albums were. There are three: one filled with pictures of specifically Gabe and I, another with pictures of Mama and Daddy (which is thinner than the other two), and the last one was filled with pictures of all of us together. 

On Mama’s side of the closet we find an empty beach bag, so we put the albums in there. There were some framed pictures in their room and on the walls, and so we took those, too. There were pictures of me, Gabe, and Mama in Daddy’s office, which we also gently placed in the bag. 

The bag was so heavy that Gabe and I had to carry it together. When we got to the hospital, Liam and his friends weren’t there. I wanted to tell Gabe that maybe it was important to try and look for him and talk to him, but him and Grandma were already ushering me into Mama’s hospital room. 

“Hello, there,” she says to us, smiling. 

“Hi, Mom,” Gabe greets, we put down the bag and stare at her for a couple moments. 

“I hear that you guys have some pictures to show me?” Her tone isn’t motherly or cheerful like it used to be. Instead it’s… friendly… but not really. Like when a stranger in the subway asks for directions, or when the cashier asks if you found everything you needed. She sounded like she was obligated to be nice to us, and didn’t really want to. I wanted to understand her feelings, I really did. I tried to remind myself that Mama didn’t know she was a Mama. 

I just wanted to leave everything be and disappear, to fade from existence the same way that Mama’s memories of us did. 

But if I faded from existence, what would happen to Gabe? If Mama never gets her memories back, then what else would keep him here? He would have to leave Grandma and Mama and go with Liam. He would have to go alone. Just as if he left, I would be alone. 

And I hated being alone or even thinking of it. Mama and Daddy were always close to us, so I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to isolate myself from everyone. Even the word “isolation” made me think of how the police had told Grandma that they found Mama under a pile of rubble. Was Mama able to see before people pulled her out? If they didn’t pull her out, and she stayed there, and we never found her, and her name was never in the news, would she have technically existed? Would she have existed for the doctors and nurses and our family friends who sent her flowers? Would she have existed anymore for Liam and his friends?

Technically, she wouldn’t have. But right here, right now, she existed, Gabe existed, and so did I. We just had to remind her. 

I pull out the album filled with pictures of Gabe and I first, mentally marking us as the top priority. I walk over to one side of her bed and sit next to her. Gabe seems hesitant. He looks disconnected, just as he has the entire day. Now there’s a confusion mixed in with it, and I know it’s because of what Grandma told us about Liam. Gabe’s face represents all of the questions I have. 

Usually when he gets like that, I leave him be so I don’t accidentally make it worse. But this time is different. 

“Come on,” I call to him from Mama’s left side. 

“You can sit here, Gabriel,” Mama pats the right side of her bed, where there’s a space big enough for him to sit. 

My face falls a little when she calls him “Gabriel” instead of the sweet “Gabe”. The memories flash through my head, how Mama never referred to us as “Gabriel and Eleanor,” but always as “Gabe and Ella.” Her affectionate nicknames that caught on became a larger part of our identities than our actual names. 

But, still, it’s a step in the right direction. She’s trying to pull us towards her, which is better than leaving us on the side by ourselves. 

When Gabe sits down, I open the book up to his kindergarten graduation. She smiles and laughs at our stories, and for the first time during the longest, most helpless week of my life, I have hope that everything might just turn out okay.

\- Olivia - 

Almost a week after Liam and Drake left for New York, a folder with pictures of them walking around Times Square was smacked down onto Olivia’s desk by her assistant and sidekick, Jacob. 

There were pictures of Liam, Drake, and Maxwell walking down a crowded street and into a store with stuffed animals. Olivia looks up at Jacob and asks, “Where did you get these pictures from?”

“Intercepted them in the capital this morning before they reached the palace.”

“Who in the palace would be trying to get pictures of the king?” Olivia wonders aloud. She suspected Madeleine, that good-for-nothing she-devil who never stopped delving into everyone else’s business with the intent of “making sure no one’s actions could embarrass Cordonia”. 

Liam and Drake hadn’t gotten back to Olivia since they had left to go find Riley. Olivia wanted to give Liam a call, but decided it was best to leave him alone. She already knew that nothing she could say would make him feel better. All of them knew that Riley was the only thing that could lift his mood. 

Olivia forced herself to understand that a long time ago. When Madeleine was no longer the Queen-to-be, Riley was nowhere to be found, and Liam was in need of a wife, Olivia did her best to hint towards them marrying. But Liam, in his state of heartbreak, didn’t notice Olivia, so she consoled herself that he would never be in love with her. It hurt, but pain wasn’t new to Olivia.

What she couldn’t accept was the fact that some commoner came in out of thin air and broke the only man Olivia had ever loved, and left just as she had arrived. Olivia made it her goal that not only would she do everything in her power as Duchess to make her king happy again, but she couldn’t wait to give Riley a piece of her mind as punishment for what she did to Liam. 

Yet as the years went on, the likeliness of them finding Riley began to decrease, and Olivia was almost desperate to get her back. Riley’s punishment be damned, Liam was going to lose himself.

She knew that having to bring back Riley after she had just been in an accident would be a challenge, but at least Liam would be more relaxed. At least there would be hope for a more secure government. 

But six days after she had sent them off to New York, she still hadn’t heard back from them. And seeing these images of them walking around the city without Riley was very concerning. Picking up her phone, she debates whether she should call Liam. Even though it was almost midnight in Lythikos, It would be around six in the evening in America. Would Liam, Drake, and Maxwell still be roaming or would they be with Riley?

She decided that calling Drake would be a bit better, considering that she could seriously use some entertainment. 

The line rings until finally his rugged voice goes, “Hello?”

“Drake. Where are you and Liam?” 

“My day was fine, thank you for asking. I hope you’re having a nice day, too, Olivia.”

She scoffs. “I don’t have time for pleasantries.” She pauses, listening closely to the song that was playing in Drake’s background. “Are you… watching a children’s show?”

“No!” he shouts. “We’re in a candy store. That’s just the… music they put on.”

“Shouldn’t you all be focusing on Riley instead of pleasing Maxwell’s sweet tooth?”

“For your information, we are technically focusing on Riley, and the candy isn’t for Maxwell. How’d you know he was with us, anyway?”

Olivia picks up a picture of Liam, Drake, and Maxwell inside a store with Maxwell holding up a stuffed animal at least two feet taller than him. “Just a hunch. If you’re not in there for Maxwell, then who are you getting candy for? Riley?” 

Drake doesn’t respond. She can hear him sigh, and then he finally says, “We found out that Riley has two kids. The older one is Liam’s.”

Olivia’s jaw goes slack. A moment later she breathes out the words, “Liam didn’t know, did he?” Olivia knew that the last thing Liam would ever be was a negligent or cold father — especially after they discovered what his own father had done to him and Riley. If Liam knew that he had a son, there was no way that he would have allowed such a distance to come between them for so long. But along with pity for Liam, a fire in her chest was lightened as well. How dare Riley keep Liam’s son from him?

“Nope. He didn’t. They took a paternity test to make sure. It came back positive this morning. So that conversation between Gabriel and Liam is going to happen eventually, and we thought it’d be better to surprise him and his sister with gifts. To think of it, Eleanor should be in that conversation, too.” She can tell Drake pulls the phone away from his ear, because his voice sounds distant when he yells, “Maxwell! Get some extra gummy worms for Eleanor!”

There’s a faint, “Got it!” from the other side. 

“Gabriel and Eleanor?” Olivia asks. “Are those the children’s names?”

“Yup.”

“Gabriel is suitable for the name of a prince. A strong name, part of Cordonia’s history as an honorable warrior…. But Eleanor? She isn’t Liam’s, is she?”

“No,” Drake answers. “Her dad’s name is Theodore Blaise. He died in the accident.”

“But Eleanor is also the name of Liam’s mother?”

Drake lowers his voice. “I know, I thought about that, too. That doesn’t seem like something Riley did without thinking. I wish we could ask her, though it’d be useless.” 

“Useless?” Olivia frowns. “Why wouldn’t she be able to tell you? Does she not want to talk to you?”

Drake sighs again. “She lost her memory.” 

“Oh,” Olivia states. She thinks to herself, A clean slate, huh? But she can’t bring herself to explain the sense of dread in her chest. Now what will happen between her and Liam? Will he give up on her? He wouldn’t, though. He’s not like that. He has a son with her. And a step-daughter. “Don’t get Eleanor gummy worms,” she speaks after a silence moment.

“What?” She can imagine the look of confusion on Drake’s face. 

“I said don’t get her gummy worms, get her gummy bears. Worms are sad. Bears are happy. Haven’t you heard that childish gummy bear song?”

“I’m surprised you’ve heard it, Olivia. But I disagree. Worms are for when you’re happy. Bears are for when you’re sad. She just lost her father and is probably still upset, and we’re here to try and make them happy. Cheer them up before a serious conversation, y’know?”

“Is that why you guys were in the toy store?” Olivia picks up the picture that shows the three men walking out of said store with shopping bags in their arms.

“Olivia, are you spying on us?” 

“No,” she states, “though I probably should be since you all aren’t bothering to tell me anything. Anyway, Jacob intercepted some photographs of you three going around stores in Times Square. The pictures were being sent to someone in the palace.” 

“Damnit,” Drake spits. “Who else knows that we’re in New York? Whatever. I’ll let Bastien know. In the meantime I think you should go over to the palace and check everything out. See if anything suspicious is happening.” 

“I’ll leave in the morning,” Olivia declares. “Oh, and Drake?”

“Yeah?”

She sighs. “Let me know if Riley’s condition improves. And tell Liam that I’ve been meaning to talk to him. It’s alright if he can’t, I know he’s got a lot on his plate, but… just….”

“Damn,” Drake comments. “Someone’s going soft. Was it the gummy bear song that did it?” 

Olivia scoffs and ends the call.


	8. The Day Before the Tea Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After five years, Hana returns to Cordonia

**\- Hana -**

Very soon, waking up in the mornings became a challenge. At first, it was her body that refused to obey her alarm clock. Then, Hana simply accepted it and would wake up by herself around half past eight — almost two hours later than she had been trained to start her day.

This morning was particularly difficult. She had silently cried herself to sleep the night before, and the tears had yet to disappear from her cheeks, nor was her pillow dry. The air was thick as it went into her lungs, though when she opened the window, a delicate breeze embraced her, flowing through her hair and fingers. She could feel the hint of the approaching summer through the signs of the persistent cold.

The dent on the other side of the mattress told Hana that her husband had been awake for hours. She didn’t care. Before Neville used to yell at her and say that it was improper for her to sleep in (“ _Does not a lady of your status have better things to do than lay around like a pathetic commoner with nothing better to do_?” he would shout at her during breakfast). Eventually he stopped, but he would still give her cold looks if he knew that she had been in bed longer than eight hours.

He added to the difficulty of waking up, and Hana suspected that one day she would be too weak to get out of bed entirely.

 _Today should be better than other days_ , she told herself as she went to reach for a dress in her closet. _Mother and Father are here. There are still a few days left in their visit. Perhaps Mother would want to spend some time with me?_

Every step down the stairs and towards the breakfast table increased her level of anxiety. That was nothing new; it was all a part of her daily routine. As was the sound of her heart hammering in her ears. Next was the sight of Neville’s atrocious side-profile. Xinghai and Lorelai were laughing at something Hana had not heard, but she knew that it wasn’t remotely funny — nothing Neville says is ever funny. Her parents greet her, and Neville spares her a glance and says, “Is that the same dress from yesterday morning?”

The room falls into silence.

“You’ve a letter, Hana,” Lorelai informs her as her daughter sits down.

A cream colored envelope with their address smoothly written sits in front of her.

“I hope it is not from that Beaumont boy again,” Neville comments.

“Well I don’t think there’s anything wrong with friendly correspondence,” Xinghai begins.

“I beg to differ, sir,” Neville starts. “It would be best if you saw it from my perspective. An unmarried lord sending monthly letters to my wife asking her to return to Cordonia. That is _highly_ improper. I would ask him directly to respect the difference between my own status and his, but Hana says there is no need apparently.” He scoffs.

 _All he asks is for me to come and help find Lady Riley,_ she wants to say _. He writes about His Majesty’s depression. Lord Maxwell requests that I come to help him cheer everyone up. Not to worry though, I would never willingly go back without Lady Riley, because without her I am alone, just as I have been everyday for the past decade._

Hana flips the envelope over, expecting to see the Beaumont Family Seal, but instead comes face-to-face with the RoyalSeal.

Everyone at the table stares down at what is in Hana’s hands.

“A royal invitation?” Lorelai cries.

 _Of course Liam would do this_ , Hana thinks to herself. _I had told him that I didn’t want to return. He knew pestering me over the phone wouldn’t work, so instead he sends an invitation, knowing that Neville would see it and would accept it on my behalf._

Hana opens the envelope, taking out the letter and reads the contents aloud.

“ _Dear Earl Cormery and Countess Cormery_ ,

 _The honor of your presence is requested by the Queen Mother at the Annual Cordonian Tea Ceremony on the evening of May 24th_.”

“Goodness!” Lorelai exclaims. “From the Queen Mother herself?”

“Ah, what terrible timing!” Neville cries, snatching the invitation from Hana. “I’ve an important financial project that requires my attention in London. I planned to leave this evening.”

“Oh,” Hana looks down at her empty hands. “You… you never told me.”

“Didn’t I?” Neville does not look up from the letter. “Perhaps I forgot about it. Forgive me, dear, you know how busy I am.”

She nods, but cannot hide the sorrow on her face.

“Well, Neville,” Lorelai says. “If you are indisposed and do not plan on bringing Hana with you, then it seems as though she is free to attend the ceremony.”

“Perhaps… but what will she say when her husband is absent?” Neville argues.

Xinghai chuckles. “The truth, of course. That you are away on an important financial project and could not attend.”

After a few seconds in which Neville does not respond, Lorelai speaks up and says, “Wonderful, then. Hana, I will help you pack later tonight.”

 _No thank you, Mother_ , she wants to say. _I do not wish to return to Cordonia. There are too many painful and empty memories. My life already consists of lonely, aching days. Please do not subject me to more._

“Yes, all good.” Neville tucks the paper into his breast pocket. Hana hoped that he would reject the idea. But since her mother suggested it and he has allowed it, there was no chance of her getting out of it. “Now, how much longer until we are served? _Staff!_ I demand to know what is taking so long! If we are not served our breakfast within the next five minutes, by the end of today you will all be left unemployed!”

…

Neville left for London before dinner and did not say goodbye. Lorelai reprimanded Hana for being so distant with her husband, saying that the hard work in securing a marriage doesn’t end after the wedding. Hana had excused herself to go and pack without her mother.

She took the earliest flight to Cordonia, and was in the capital right before noon. She walked into the palace, where she showed her invitation to a servant and was led towards her room.

On her way up the stairs, she bumps into Olivia.

“Hana?” she exclaims. “What are you doing here?”

“Olivia! It’s been so long!” Hana leaves her bags and goes to hug Olivia — who does not hug her back — overcome at the sight of a somewhat friendly face. “I was invited to the tea ceremony tomorrow. Did you receive and invitation as well?”

“No, actually. I’m here on business.”

“Oh, well, sorry to bother you. Do you know if His Majesty will be attending? Or… Maxwell?”

Olivia frowns a little. “Liam and Drake are in New York,” she tells Hana. “As are the Beaumonts… didn’t they tell you?”

Her face falls. “No. After I left, I severed communications with them… for the most part, at least. I only answered His Majesty’s phone calls, which were rare….”

“So… you don’t know anything about Riley’s condition? Liam told me that he was going to tell you and Maxwell.”

Hana’s eyes go wide. “What about Riley?”

“She—.”

“Lady Hana is that you?!” calls a voice. Hana turns to see Madeleine walking towards them, with an unfamiliar cheer in her tone. “It is wonderful to see you back at court! And Lady Olivia….”

“Yes, Maddy, it’s always a pleasure to see you.” Olivia rolls her eyes.

Madeleine puts an arm on Hana’s shoulder. “How is the Earl?”

“He is well,” Hana manages to say, and is glad that Madeleine doesn’t ask more about him.

“I’m glad.” She glances down at the watch on her wrist. “Now if you two will excuse me, I’m on my way for lunch with the Queen Mother.” Madeleine regards Hana for a moment. “Would you like to join, Hana?”

She agrees before she even realizes that she doesn’t even _want_ to go. “And… perhaps Olivia can join us?” Hana was itching to know more about Riley’s condition. Olivia had a tendency to vanish and re-emerge when it suited her, but Hana was not going to let Olivia get away. She had information about Riley.

Madeleine sighs. “I suppose.”

Hana gives her luggage to the servant as her and Olivia follow Madeleine down the hall.

“Don’t worry, Maddy,” Olivia comments. “I hate your presence almost as much as you hate mine.”

“Oh, I _assure_ you—,” Madeleine begins, but they’ve already reached the dinning hall, and the Queen Mother is already seated.

“Lady Hana” she exclaims. “A pleasure to see you. And I see Lady Olivia has also arrived for the ceremony tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Olivia says, but Hana wonders what business Olivia was talking about before.

Each of the ladies takes a seat as servants serve them plates of different fruits, breads, and meat. Hana is reluctant to eat; she barley eats at home, but could not sit in front of her plate aimlessly in front of the Queen Mother. She takes small bites and manages to force herself through the meal.

“I imagine that King Liam will be attending the ceremony tomorrow?” Olivia asks, not looking up from her meal.

_I thought Olivia said that Liam was in New York? Why is she asking the Queen Mother of his whereabouts when she already knows where he is?_

“Unfortunately His Majesty will not be attending,” Regina responds. “He’s away on business.”

“Oh?” Madeleine remarks. “I do hope the issue with the Spanish ambassador goes through. If not, King Liam risks looking desperate and the entire ordeal could shed a negative light on Cordonia.”

“The ambassador had to return to his country due to a personal issue,” Regina states, then goes back to her food.

Both Olivia and Madeleine look expectantly over at Regina, but she continues eating and acts as if she doesn’t notice the ladies’ eyes on her.

“Then… what else keeps His Majesty from being in attendance?” Olivia questions carefully.

Hana shoots her a look. _Why does she keep asking questions she already has the answers to?_

“He is abroad, I believe.” Regina answers apathetically.

“Do you not know where he is, ma’am?” Madeleine looks up from her food.

Regina chuckles. She takes a sip of her wine and says, “Oh, I know where he is. The king is in New York.”

Madeleine gently puts down her fork. “Ma’am I believe it would best if you advised His Majesty that taking too many trips to America sends quite a scandalous message to the press.”

“Scandalous?” Hana asks.

“They remember Lady Riley and his relationship with her. She was from New York, and his constant visits have led the press to believe that he is having an affair with her!”

The Queen Mother scoffs, taking another sip of her wine.

“We all know that’s utter nonsense, Maddy,” Olivia says. “Lady Riley disappeared after he ended his engagement to you. Don’t you remember? That was one public incident that you _couldn’t_ twist in your favor.”

Madeleine stares back at Olivia. “ _Incident_ isn’t what I would call it—.”

“Please, Lady Olivia,” Regina interrupts. “None of that was Countess Madeleine’s fault or even His Majesty’s fault. _Lady Riley_ is the one to blame. I remember that _silly_ investigation she led with Drake Walker and Lord Beaumont. But in the end it amounted to nothing.” She scoffs again. “She knew all along that court life would be too much for her, and with everything that happened to her with that Tariq fellow, it was simply proved that she was not fit for such a life.”

 _How undiplomatic,_ Hana thinks. _She wouldn’t say that in front of Liam. He would forbid her from speaking about Lady Riley like that._

“Yes,” Madeleine comments, going back to her food. “I tried to warn her of it in the beginning, but she was so… _stubborn_. No wonder she ended up in such a situation.”

Hana doesn’t understand why Olivia keeps quiet. They share a look. Hana wishes she had the energy to defend Riley, but deep in her heart, Hana is still angry with her best friend. Riley had motivated Hana to choose a life beyond her parents’ expectations. Once she had disappeared, Hana could only hold off her parents by herself for so long.

“I’ve done the best I can for my country,” Regina comments after another few bites of her food. “Of course, I’ve never done anything as controversial as my late husband, but I’ve… done my best to refocus the king’s attention and efforts.”

“Even without a queen, His Majesty has done a wonderful job—,” Madeleine begins.

“Yes, yes,” Regina waves Madeleine’s words away. “He’s done his duty to his people in the sense that he has provided for them and helped them thrive, but he has not secured his throne. _Stability_ ….” She trials off.

“I am sure King Liam is doing the best he can,” Olivia begins. “Simply because he does not wish to focus on finding a queen—.”

“Simply because he does not wish to focus on finding a queen doesn’t mean that he has to chase after a disappeared waitress!” Regina exclaims.

The ladies say nothing, and Regina goes for another sip of her wine.

“I’ve done my best to steer him away from her,” she begins again. “But he does not listen to me. I managed once to deter _her_ away from _him_ , and that seemed to have worked for the past eight years. Now he’s after her again.” She calls for a servant to refill her glass.

“You mean to say that he is in New York _for Lady Riley_ as we speak?” Madeleine asks, and Hana notices an irritation in her eyes.

“What do you mean you _deterred_ Lady Riley?” Olivia asks.

The Queen Mother looks towards Olivia and chuckles, ignoring Madeleine’s question.

“If you do not know what I am referring to, then that means that I succeed.” She turns back towards her plate. “She attempted to attend the Duke of Ramsford’s wedding. I saw her at the entrance. In a disguise of all things! I had my guards take her aside and I spoke with her. She said she needed to speak to His Majesty about something important.” Regina scoffs again and frowns. “The _audacity_ of the girl… I noticed a wedding band on her finger, told her that all she had done for Cordonia was put it on a path towards _ruin_. She had corrupted King Liam’s heart, and her next aim clearly was to corrupt the monarchy… to taint it with another scandal. I had my guards escort her to the airport, and I made sure that there was no chance Liam saw her.”

 _Riley’s married?_ Hana wonders. Her heart aches.

“The press labeled her as a crown-chaser once,” Madeleine comments, a smirk on her face.

Regina turns to her niece and laughs. “Perhaps during the social season it did not seem so. But imagine that… she came back for Liam as a married woman. Merely to break his heart even further.”

“Did you know what she wished to speak to him about?” Olivia asks.

“No,” Regina states, deep in thought. “It may have been something she believed was of great consequence, since she came halfway across the world to tell him. I believe it is for the best, though, that she never told Liam. Whatever she had to say would have made him stray further from being a responsible king.”

“But if she never told you what the topic was, then how did it become something for you to decide whether it was crucial enough for his attention?” Olivia frowns at the Queen Mother, who is taken aback.

“I hope I am mistaken, Lady Olivia,” Regina starts, glaring at her, “that you wish to side with Lady Riley, who has done no good for Cordonia or her king?”

“I think,” Hana jumps in, “that Lady Olivia means that if Lady Riley is what makes His Majesty happy, then allowing their relationship would have allowed him to refocus more effectively.”

“If Lady Riley and His Majesty were allowed to continue their relationship,” Madeleine focuses her words towards Hana. “Then afterwards his efforts would be towards keeping Cordonia from international scorn.”

“You know, Maddy,” Olivia takes another bite of her salad. “You always _did_ have a hard time hiding your jealousy.”

“Excuse you?” Madeleine spits.

“Enough!” Regina throws her fork onto the plate. “This has been a very _stressful_ meal for me. I shall go rest in my quarters. Madeleine, walk with me?”

“Of course, ma’am,” Madeleine offers the Queen Mother her arm, helping her get up and walk out of the room.

When they’re out of sight, Olivia puts her head in her hands.

“Poor Riley and Liam,” Hana says. “There’s always someone working against their happily ever after.”

Olivia leans back in her seat, and Hana watches her.

“Do _you_ have an idea of what Riley wanted to tell Liam?” she asks.

Olivia sighs. “Yes, actually, I do.”

“What was it?”

Olivia looks around the room. “This wouldn’t be the best place to speak about it. Perhaps we can go to Lythikos after the ceremony tomorrow, and I can tell you all I know.”

Hana had booked a flight back home the morning after the ceremony. A part of her told her to refuse Olivia’s offer, but another part, the stronger part, told her that this was something that could bring her one step closer to happiness — something that was dreadfully lacking in her life. Hana knew a little excitement would do her health some good. She could call Neville and tell him that she was staying for a few more days. Hana knew he wouldn’t care, though, and for the first time she’s glad for his lack of concern for her. “That would be lovely,” Hana states.

They stand and go their separate ways for the evening. Though Hana is a little less upset that her group of friends never told her about Riley, she still wants to cry in pity for herself. For Liam. For Drake. For Maxwell. For Riley.

_If they’re already with Riley, then I’m the only one missing. Wasn’t I helpful during the Engagement Tour? Don’t they want my help or my company? Have they given up on me? Of course they have. In their time of need, I left them alone. What a terrible friend I was. It’s just like Neville said, that my pathetic demeanor would bury me in a life of miserable rejection. I guess I only have myself to blame for all of it. What a terrible friend I am._


End file.
